A FAMILY-RUN town centre tanning salon will re-open after being devastated by a flood caused by a burst pipe, its owners have vowed.

Designer Tan and Beauty have been forced to shut their Church Street West, Radcliffe, shop until further notice after the pipe burst while it was closed for Easter.

Owners Neil and Jayne Higginson have run the salon for more than a decade and have promised that they will re-open once their "ruined" building and equipment can be repaired.

Mr Higginson, of Arundel Close, Bury, said: "We closed down over the Easter period for four days and on the Saturday I was in Radcliffe having a drink when I got a call from one of the ladies at the nail bar across the road from our shop.

"She said she had seen water coming in the shop so I went straight there.

"We went to turn the stop tap off and there was water pouring out of the roller shutters. When we opened the door, there must have been about a foot of water that came gushing out and nearly knocked us over. It was like a scene from Titanic.

"The fire service were absolutely great with us and helped get all of the water out, but the shop is just ruined.

"The floor has come up and the sunbeds are gone, it's a total wreck. I can't believe it."

The damage comes less than a year after Church Street West re-opened after months of roadworks to allow for sewer repairs, which had a significant negative impact on the salon and other town centre businesses.

Mr Higginson, who also runs an electrical services company, added: "We are going to be re-opening. We have been going since 2004 and we have a really good customer base who are always very loyal to us.

"I would like to thank Sara Dawson and Clair Smith from the nail and beauty bar, Mark from MN Electrical, Ian Hayes, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and the countless people who helped us on the Saturday.

"Everything will be covered by our insurance, but we can't do anything until the loss adjusters have been out and I don't know how long it will be before we can open again.

"We had the road closures to deal with last year and we came through that, so it's a shame that this has happened now when everything is back to normal.

"Jayne really runs the place by herself and does a fantastic job, so she was very upset. Now we want to get on and turn it around."