A SALON owner from Crewe has scooped a top award for staying in touch with clients and the South Cheshire community helping to keep spirits up during the pandemic.

Steven Burgin is the winner of Joico's prestigious Social Savvy Salon award after proving a cut above for his efforts to "inform, entertain and motivate" on social media.

Throughout the health crisis, Steven Burgin hair salon has staged various initiatives to raise money for charity, keep local people informed with hair tips and reward team members.

Posting primarily on Facebook, the salon on Hospital Street has raised more than £500 for Charity Water which brings clean water to families in developing countries after clients and people walking by called to chip in their spare change.

Now in its 20th year, the salon has also fundraised for Help for Heroes and The Little Princess Trust which provides free wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatments.

American hair brand Joico staged a virtual awards ceremony where Steve was named winner of the new award category.

Steve, who is a former Joico Business Manager of the Year, said: "Although not the 20th anniversary year we had planned owing to the pandemic, we went all out to demonstrate positive PR with a wide variety of story lines.

"This has been a challenging time for us all but our clients and the local community have shown their community spirit and kindness donating money to our charity activities and keeping in touch on social media during extended lockdowns. We can't wait to welcome them again."

Steve has worked with Jan Roberts of Cheshire-based Pure PR to boost his social media campaigns. He has also been interviewed on BBC Radio Stoke and Cat Community Radio.