A hairdresser has come up with a hair-brained scheme to help his customers through the recession.

James Musgrave is inviting men to take a course at his Jimmy Chop Chop salons in Brighton and Crawley to learn how to style their wives and girlfriend's hair.

Mr Musgrave said: “It has been my idea for a little while, to help people through the recession.

“So we have invited couples to come in and get the men to learn how to do their women's hair.

“It will only be straightening, curling and blow drying.

“There will be no cutting, I think that could be dangerous.

“The idea is to give them a few tips and help the women save a few quid on getting their hair done before going out.”

Mr Musgrave, who has run his shop at the Basepoint Business Centre in Crawley for three years, and his Trafalgar Street salon in Brighton since February, said the techniques were fairly easy to learn, but there were some basic safety rules the couples would have to stick to in order to avoid straightening strife.

He said: “The key thing is keeping the straightening irons away from the neck. They can get very hot so could cause some pretty serious injuries if they're not used carefully.

“We take them through all of the safety aspects of straightening, curling and blow drying before they start.

“Most of the men can learn to straighten hair fairly quickly, it's the curling that tends to be a bit trickier.”

As well as saving the cost of trips to the salon before a night out, Mr Musgrave thinks the course could help couples resolve any recession-related rowing.

He said: “The recession puts a strain on people's relationships.

“This is a really fun thing for couples to do together and it is something different to do that doesn't cost much.

“When they come in to learn they have us on hand if anything goes wrong.

“And the feedback we've had from our regular customers has been really good.

“No one has been injured or had their hair ruined by a loved one yet.”

Jimmy Chop Chop charge about £15 for the training session depending on how long it takes and the hairstyle.

To book call 0845 3009969.