A long serving barber who specialises in cutting hair for children with autism and disabled people is closing due to cost of living struggles.

John Clayton has been a barber for the last 50 years and opened John C Barber Shop in Nuttall Street, Accrington, 12 years ago.

The barber shop, which is rated five stars on Yell, and has been described by regular customers as a “pillar of the community” has been sold and will officially close on February 25.

John said the cost-of-living crisis has affected his ability to run a business that is affordable for his customers as his energy bills have increased by “six times the amount.”

He said: “We’ve always kept our prices low in here, a hair cut costs around £6 or £7 because that’s how much a cut is worth but we’ve run out of money.

“I’ve had to get out of the business quickly and sell because if I raise my prices then I’m going to lose about 50 per cent of my customers because they can’t afford that.

"I would rather walk away knowing I’ve done a service than overcharge someone in the market.

“I cannot justify having someone in the chair for more than five minutes and charging double or triple the price because they wouldn’t be paying for a service, they’d be paying a gas bill. And why should they be feed the pockets of these companies?”

John specialises in cutting hair for children with autism, people living with Down syndrome, and elderly people living in care homes ,and is worried that vulnerable people are going to be “drastically unsupported".

So John has started training some of the parents to cut their own kids’ hair to help save his customers money.

One woman, who regularly takes her two sons to John for their haircuts, said: “This is quite heart-breaking for my boys as it's all my youngest two have known and we’ve built a great relationship with John.”

Another parent has been taking their 14-year-old son since he was a young child and says John “will be missed in the area” with another parent sharing they were “gutted” with the news.

The 63-year-old says his total outgoings used to be £91 a week but have soared to £517 a week before even taking any money.

He added: “During lockdown, I used government grants to invest back into the business by supporting a low figure of around £7 for a cut to support the community but we cannot do that anymore.

“There’s going to be a tsunami come April. This rise is going to absolutely decimate the rest of Hyndburn and we’re not getting enough help at all from the government.”

This government announced the Energy Bill Discount Scheme from April 2023 for businesses and organisations but provides even less support than what was offered before.

According to an example on the Government’s website, the small energy bill deduction could mean that a pub which was previously getting £3,100 in support every month will now get just £190.

Hyndburn Borough Council have been contacted for a comment.