The owners of Mi Amor Hair & Cosmetics at the Bentalls Centre, Heybridge, said they felt 'annoyed' by the theft of their outdoor floral arrangement.

Last Saturday (August 20) Essex Police published a photo of a woman in connection with the theft which took place on June 19.

Co-owner Keely Griffin told Nub News: "It's a very weird thing – I don't know whether it was a joke, but it's very bizarre.

"It was more of an annoyance – just the fact someone thinks they can take something that's not theirs."

Along with Olivia Collison, the pair opened the hairdressers in April 2021, which has proved popular with the public.

There was chicken wire as part of the floral arrangement, which the thief would have had to remove too. (Photo: Nub News)

Keely said: "It's always busy. We started with two stylists and now we've got seven."

The duo plans to expand the business in future and they hope to open a branch in Maldon.

Keely joked: "It's not going to stop me – someone taking flowers from the shopfront!"

The floral arrangement is expected to be replaced this weekend. It had been there since the store opened over a year ago.

When she walked into work and found the display was missing, Keely asked Jason, caretaker at the Bentalls Centre, to check CCTV. She suspected the missing flowers may have been due to children 'playing around'.

She was surprised to find that a 'fully-grown woman' was allegedly responsible for the theft.

Keely said: "It was laughable, really."

The pair originally purchased all the floral displays at once and recalled "everyone knows artificial flowers are expensive".

Keely revealed she didn't expect Essex Police to respond to her report at first, but they did so two months after she filed it.

Essex Police have asked members of the public with any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, to get in touch.

They said: "Please quote incident 42/168029/22 when providing any information, to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible."

Updated on August 27 2022, to reflect Essex Police's announcement that the woman they wished to speak to has been identified.