A STOURBRIDGE hair salon is celebrating 40 years in business.

Croppers in Stourbridge High Street, run by husband and wife hairdressers Tony and Coleen Price, is still proving a 'cut above' after four decades.

Hair styles may have changed since the late 1970s but Tony and Coleen, who first met as young stylists at Salon Royale in Halesowen, are as passionate as ever about their trade and plan to keep cutting people's locks for as long as they can.

Coleen, aged 68, started her career at Bernard's in Quinton while Tony, aged 69, cut his teeth at Anthony's in Bearwood before moving on to Peter's in Blackheath where he enjoyed some real career highlights.

He said: "I did lots of competition work and I got through to the final of the L'Oreal Colour Trophy competition at the Royal Albert Hall."

It was after this that Tony moved to Salon Royale where he met Coleen and the couple went on to open Croppers in 1977.

Both lived with their respective parents as they got the business off the ground and they eventually tied the knot five years later. Both the marriage and the business have stood the test of time - with the hair salon believed to be one of the longest-running in the town.

Tony said: "We've been very lucky."

The pair, who live in Haden Hill, employ four stylists and a Saturday assistant - and both boast clients who have trusted them to do their hair for the last 50 years.

One person not prepared to let Tony loose with the scissors, however, was Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson whose trademark blonde barnet he offered to cut when the MP appeared out of the blue at the salon door during a campaign visit to help get Andy Street elected as West Midlands Mayor this year.

Tony said: "We poked a bit of fun at him over his hair and he came back with a nice response. He was very entertaining."