Demon barbers need to be cut from the High St

In response to the article last week about the surge in barber shops being used as a front for organised crime gangs, the problem is that there is no governing body. You should need a licence to trade and it’s an insult to us who have studied and respect the trade.

E. Matthews, Blackburn

I wonder whether these shops are being used as a front for human trafficking and modern slavery. You do seem to notice that some of the people working there are very shy and don’t normally speak English. I was shocked to hear that slavery is still very much an issue in this country. Why can’t we seem to help these poor people?

R. Riley, Hereford

Near where I live there are three Turkish barber shops within 30 yards of one another. If they were bakeries, how many would stay in business?

Paul Ruane, Somerset

I don’t think barber shops are the only businesses being used as fronts for organised crime gangs. Car washes, nail bars and takeaway outlets, to name but a few, should also be investigated.

Carol Armstrong, Bedfordshire

The barber shop down the road from where I used to live had a new luxury car every year parked outside it, and I think I only ever

saw one customer in the four years I lived there. Why can’t the police step in and do something about it? Especially when it’s this suspicious.

Eleanor Wood, Bracknell

While I understand the officials’ fear of the surge in barber shops on our high streets, I don’t think all barber shops should be under suspicion just because they don’t have many customers. There are a lot of people who can’t afford the luxury of having their hair cut in the current climate. There’s a Christian bookshop in our town which is always empty, so why is that not under suspicion alongside the barbers?

Emily Long, Nottingham

Having these fronts pop up on high streets is just another sign of

the future as the police and judiciary don’t seem to be too bothered about crime any more.

Alicia Black, Chester

Perhaps we need a police force that puts all its resources into investigating these barber shops. We are becoming a laughable nation when we can’t control the crime so obviously on our doorsteps.

E. Crawford, Gillingham, Kent

I can readily believe that barber shops are being used as fronts for organised crime.

There are dozens of them on a few streets near me. Why is this area suddenly inundated with people needing haircuts after all these decades?

Nathan Kim, East Lothian