Lincolnshire Barber Left Gutted as £12.4m Blunder Turns Out to be a Trimmer £95

James Parker, co-owner of the Stamford-based Asembo hairdressers, was left picking his jaw up off the floor when a compensation letter from National Grid promised a whopping £12.4m for a power cut disruption. The energy supplier had failed to restore power within 12 hours at his Lincolnshire salon, but the hefty payout had him quipping that they must’ve mistaken him for Heathrow’s Terminal 2. Alas, the company soon admitted to the decimal point debacle and swiftly sent out a revised cheque for a less extravagant £95. Parker, who runs the salon with his wife Natasha, admitted he needed his specs to digest the staggering sum originally offered. Despite knowing it was a blunder, the salon team spent some time fantasising about indulgent holidays and other ways to splash the cash. ‘A life of anonymity’ was Parker’s dream purchase if the windfall had been legitimate. But after six days of checking the post with bated breath, the corrected cheque arrived, leaving Mr Parker appreciative, but understandably a tad disappointed.