Liverpool beauty salon owner Katie Walker awarded at Pride of Britain Awards
Liverpool beauty salon owner Katie Walker was among the everyday men and women who were honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards last night.
The event, which took place at London’s Grosvenor House, recognises everyday heroism and is described as “a celebration of love that brings people together”.
Walker was honoured The Prince’s Trust Young Achiever after fulfilling her lifelong dream of opening her own salon after escaping a violent partner.
One night her partner beat her so badly that every bone in her face was broken and she spent three months in hospital, with specialists working hard to reconstruct her skull.
Her partner was jailed but she suffered with severe depression, until she was introduced to the Prince’s Trust by her counsellor and enrolled on the charity’s Enterprise Programme, opening her salon in 2013.
“Opening the salon was the happiest day of my life. But I wanted to use it for something more than hair and beauty. I wanted to help people who’d struggled like I had,” says Walker.
Walker is now expanding the upstairs area of her salon so she can train women suffering from abuse in hair and beauty techniques and plans to train herself in counselling so they can offer support and advice to customers who may open up about abuse.
Other winners on the night included families from Grenfell Tower and members of the emergency services who dealt with the aftermath of the Manchester bombing.
Image: ©Twitter/@katiekelleher2