A hairdressing couple have done around 260,000 cuts, witnessed the return of the mullet and seen prices rise from 30p to £10 in the 50 years they've been running their salon.

But Phil and Janette Miller are not just marking half a century working at salon Hairtrends, in Hoo, but also their golden wedding anniversary.

The pair joined the team together on March 6, 1973 – when the shop in Knights Road was called Gay Girls – and lived in the maisonette above.

They got married in the October and six years later became the owners, changing the salon's name to Unisex before settling on Hairtrends.

Hairdresser Janette said: "I cannot believe it has been 50 years. It is frightening. It is hard to let go, we are not thinking about retiring at the moment.

"When Covid happened a lot of people thought we would have given it up but I missed the company and Phil is not someone who wants to sit indoors.

"We have both still got our health so we feel we do not need to retire.

"There are so many happy memories. I started here when I was 21 when people used to come in every week for their shampoo."

Husband and barber Phil added: "I do not know where the time has gone. When we first started a man's haircut was only 40p and a child's 30p."

A lot has changed since then, he added, as the same cut will cost around £10 to £15 now. And it is not just the pricing that has changed.

"Almost three-quarters of my clients were perms back in the day and the rest were colour," Janette said. "I only do a few now. It has swapped."

The salon used to have eight hooded hairdryers which would be on for most of the day. They now have three which are used only a handful of times a week.

But hair styles do come back in fashion, the 70-year-old added. "We have a lot of young boys coming in for mullets and even perms."

The couple, who live in South Avenue, Gillingham, both started out as apprentices before working their way up the industry ladder.

The grandparents-of-two could not even begin to estimate how many haircuts they have done over 50 years but settled on just under 100 a week – so around around 260,000 in their 50 years.

A lot of their clients are the same people from when they first started working and some are the grandchildren of those people.

"They have all been like a big family to us. It has always been a family shop," Janette added.

"I have lost a lot of ladies over the last 10 years whose hair I had done since I joined, it is sad. You get to know them, you talk to them.

"We have been lucky really. Without my staff and clients, we would not still be here. They are the reason."

The parents-of-two credited their "lovely and loyal" staff who have kept the salon going – most of whom have worked there for more than 20 years.

Hairtrends is split into two with a barber shop at the front and a ladies hair salon at the back behind a parting wall.

Not only will the couple be celebrating 50 years of Hairtrends but also their golden wedding anniversary.

Janette said: "A lot of people ask how we can work together as many could not work all day with their partner but we have survived it."

Phil, 71, chimed in: "I always say its a good thing we have the partition at the front."