A pub owner has been left 'disgusted' after a customer placed their own hair in their food to get a refund.

Furious Tom Croft, 32, had refund a guest £12.95 for a beef roast dinner after they claimed they had found a hair in their food in the Observatory in Blackburn, Lancs.

But when he checked the CCTV footage to make sure his staff's hair was tied back, he was left 'disgusted' after seeing the customer put her own locks into the food.

The shocking video shows the female customer whispering to a man, before she then pulls out a piece of her long, black hair and puts it on the half-empty plate.

Tom says the customer then complained to a member of staff and 'caused at the scene' at the bar - which is why she was given a full refund for the meal.

He said: "We reviewed the footage to see what had gone wrong, incase a member of staff didn't have their hair tied back or whatever, but then we found the clip."

"I was disgusted and angry - very angry."

"There are people out there that are willing to put a business' reputation and staff's jobs at risks for a £12.95 meal."

"The kitchen team could have then thought it was their fault, when they had done absolutely nothing wrong."

Tom has co-owned the restaurant for five and a half years but says he has never experienced anything like this before.

He added that if he didn't find the CCTV footage, that his business' reputation would have 'been a big worry.'

Tom said: "We've not had anything happen like this before. "

"If we hadn't found the CCTV footage, then our reputation would be a major concern and a big worry."

"People don't want to eat in places where you find hair in food."

"We have a five star food hygiene rating and adhere to all the food safety guidelines. "

"But if we hadn't found the CCTV footage, then it could have quite easily damaged our reputation."

Tom now wants to warn other business owners and is advising them to 'keep their eyes out' for other people who might pull a similar stunt.

He said: "I just want to obviously warn other businesses to keep being vigilant."

"You need to keep your eyes out, not just for these two people but incidents of a similar nature. "

"There are people out there who are willing to chance this with another business."