Varnish and vanish: Nail bar customer has £85 manicure and pedicure then 'does a runner' without paying

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:16, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 12:16, 15 August 2026 This is the moment a brazen woman had a full pedicure and manicure and then disappeared without paying her £85 bill. Salon owner Hope Tran was left in shock as she watched the customer walk across the road to a cash machine - only to get into a waiting car and be driven off. The woman had spent more than two hours being pampered in New Milton Nails in the New Forest market town. She had infill acrylic nails done with colour tips, which costs £35, and a full pedicure with removal and colour tips, which is £50. The woman, who was dressed all in pink with sunglasses on her head and wearing white sliders, even accepted a complimentary cup of coffee. CCTV shows her scrolling through her smartphone while a member of staff paints her nails. Despite there being signs in the salon stating they did not accept card payments, the woman still asked to settle her bill by this method. It was then she said she would go to the cash machine opposite. Staff watched in disbelief as she walked straight towards the blue car parked outside. The woman was believed to be a holidaymaker staying at a nearby campsite. This is the moment a brazen woman had a full pedicure and manicure and then disappeared without paying her £85 bill Salon owner Hope Tran was left in shock as she watched the customer walk across the road to a cash machine - only to get into a waiting car and be driven off The woman had spent more than two hours being pampered in New Milton Nails in the New Forest market town But with no information to trace the woman Ms Tran was left to make up the shortfall herself. She said: 'As soon as she came in I had a bad feeling. 'She had a strong accent and mentioned she had been camping, hence she was all covered in mud. 'She went to the toilet to use our cleaning brush to brush off her slider. 'I even offered her coffee and she asked me what it was as she liked it. 'At the end she asked if she could pay by card, I told her we don't have a card reader and said she could do a bank transfer or cash. 'She asked to go to the cash machine across the road. I watched her walk across the road but instead of going to the cash machine she got straight into a blue car that was already parked and waiting for her right beside the cash machine and they drove off. 'I still had to pay my hard working staff who did her nails for over two hours, meaning they could not do any other paying clients during that time. 'I have to use my own money to cover all her costs - nail products, electric, water. 'In the future I think I will have to ask for payment upfront for holidaymakers and first time clients. 'Hopefully it won't happen again.' She said she did not bother contacting the police as she did not think they would be able to do anything. One of Hope's clients shared the woman's face on social media in the hope someone might recognise her and shame her into doing the right thing. Helen White called the woman a 'disgrace' and 'thieving low life'. Sally Dinham said: 'No small business can afford this, people who do this are complete lowlifes.'