A Lanarkshire barber has told of how he has been subjected to eight months of sectarian abuse for naming his salon Prov-City.
Stuart Pelletier has suffered graffiti, abuse, and even stones thrown at his window by strangers who believe he is an 'IRA sympathiser'.
But the 32-year-old has no intention of changing the name of his dream shop in Hamilton, as he named it after the US city he grew up in.
He spent his childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, after originally being born in East Kilbride. And adamant not to let the attacks affect his business he said: "It is something which is close to my heart and means a lot to me."
People who believe he is an IRA sympathiser have walked past hurling “C’mon the Provos” at him.
Stuart said: “I have worked extremely hard to get where I am today and for people, usually kids, to constantly destroy or damage my business and what I’ve built is infuriating.
“First it was some type of make-up, then it was stones being thrown at the windows.”
Stuart moved to Charlestown, near Rhode Island’s capital Providence, in the early 90s with his mum Lorraine and American step-dad Kevin Pelletier.
He managed another salon before deciding to open his own in Hamilton earlier this year.
Since then, he has been subjected to abuse from people who think the name refers to the Provisional IRA – also known as the Provos.
The barber, known as Stuggy, added: “Despite what has happened, I have no intention of changing the name. It is
something which is close to my heart and means a lot to me.
“I didn’t know what Provo meant until I named my shop. When I told friends, they said I should have thought of something else.
"I said, ‘Why?’ They explained it and I thought, ‘S***.’ I only now know a little of the background. I didn’t grow up in that atmosphere so I didn’t fully understand it.
"The shop is my dream and the vandalism is quite upsetting.”
Stuart now hopes to open a second salon.
The success of his Hamilton shop means so much to him that he has its name tattooed on his knuckles.
He continued: “I came here to make a new life for myself and I am not going to let that get in the way of my aspirations.”
One customer told the Sunday Mail: “It’s such a shame. This gets misinterpreted as having sectarian meaning and his place keeps getting vandalised.”
Hamilton councillor Davie McLachlan, who represents the area, told: “I am extremely disappointed and upset for the business owner. It is shocking that anybody would try to make that kind of link. It is really disappointing it would pop up in this day and age.”
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