Two tanning shops were burgled in the early hours of the morning.

Thieves targeted The Sun Shop in Willesborough and Sunkissed Tanning and Beauty Salon in Eureka Place, both in Ashford.

At around 3am this morning, two suspects broke into The Sun Shop in Church Road, stealing £160 and causing more than £400 worth of damage.

In CCTV footage seen by KentOnline's sister paper Kentish Express, the thieves smashed through the glass door with an axe.

They then make their way into the salon and stole money from the till.

Kim Barton, who has owned the salon with her husband Andrew for 12 years said: "The people living above heard the noise and came running down.

"He went running after one of them, chucked him to the floor and managed to recover half of the money stolen.

"This is the first time we have ever been broken into, it's upsetting that they are targetting small businesses as it's hard enough as it is."

Earlier this morning, thieves got away with £60 after they smashed their way into Sunkissed Tanning and Beauty Salon in Trinity Road.

At around 1am, owner Michelle West was alerted to the break in as the system is connected to her mobile.

Police were also instantly alerted and arrived at the salon with sniffer dogs within minutes.

Victoria Winham, 35, works as an eyelash technician at the salon.

She said: "When I found out about what had happened this morning my heart sank.

"I was the last person to leave the salon and there was no cause for concerns.

"It's not very nice to think someone could do this and you would like to think it's not someone who has visited the shop.

"Nothing of any value is left here overnight, it's unnecessary vandalism for minimal amount of money."

It is not yet known if the incidents are linked and police have been contacted for a comment.