AN APPARENTLY deliberate attempt to sabotage a boiler and cause poisonous carbon monoxide fumes to flow into a Dunfermline beauty salon has caused terrified staff to fear for their lives.

Complete Hair and Beauty on Chapel Street was the target of what appears to have been a malicious attack which could have killed staff and clients had it not been for a new boiler that was only installed last year.

A plastic oil canister (right) was cut into and placed over the gas flue at the back of the building, causing deadly carbon monoxide fumes to flow back into the system. Luckily for the occupants of the salon, the boiler switched itself off thanks to a safety mechanism.

Rona Beveridge, who owns the salon, branded the incident an “evil” act. “We’re really scared because we don’t know what they’re going to do next,” she told the Press.

“It’s really unsettling and we’re worried sick. If somebody is capable of that, then what else are they capable of? They are messing with people’s lives and could have ended up killing us. There are young staff with babies that come in and elderly clients with breathing difficulties. It’s unbelievable that someone could be that callous and do such an evil act. The consequences don’t bear thinking about. It could have been fatal.” The sabotage was discovered on Tuesday last week when Rona realised that the boiler had turned itself off but it wasn’t until the plumbers came to inspect the gas flue that the canister was found.

“The boiler switched off around mid-morning,” Rona explained. “It flashed with an error code so I looked it up and phoned the plumbers. They came out to look at the boiler but couldn’t find any fault. Then they went out the back and found a plastic oil canister with a perfect circle cut out of it covering the flue, so I contacted the police straight away.” She added, “We’re lucky we had a new boiler installed in December with a safety cut-off. If we’d still had the old boiler we’d be breathing carbon monoxide fumes. It was very dangerous for staff and for customers.” Police Scotland confirmed they are investigating an incident reported at the premises.