East Lancs tattoo artists' warning to England fans (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancs tattoo artists' warning to England fans

2:11pm Thursday 3rd June 2010 in News By Neil Docking, Reporter

TATTOO studios are hoping to ride a wave of World Cup glory by offering football-themed bodywork for diehard fans.

Artists across East Lancashire are already inking England-inspired designs such as the Three Lions badge and British Bulldogs.

But with the tournament fast approaching a laser specialist has warned against supporters getting carried away ‘in the heat of the moment’.

Eddie Binder, 43, the owner of Addictive Ink, Padiham Road, Burnley, is running a Three Lions badge offer this summer.

He said: “In the run-up we’re getting more people coming in who want England tattoos.

"We had two in on Saturday who wanted the Three Lions and two last week.

“It’s just football fever I suppose. When Burnley got promoted to the Premiership we did more than ever before.

“I think we’ll see a big increase if England actually win the World Cup!”

Lee Holden, 27, manager of Inkognito, Blackburn Road, Accrington, said it was doing a roaring trade in British Bulldogs.

He said: “Lots of people are coming in for British Bulldogs and England badges on their chest. We’re getting fully booked up because so many people want them.”

Dean Rothwell, 41, of Eagles Wing, Mincing Lane, Blackburn, said it had ordered special football-themed tattoos.

He said: “We’ve had a little bit of an increase but not as much as we expected. It may pick up when the World Cup gets going. If we do well hopefully we’ll be inundated.”

However, Dr Kiran Patel, a specialist with the laser medical centre Laserase based in Bolton, said the example of Manchester City fan Kirk Bradley, who was left red-faced after having a tattoo on his arm proclaiming his club as next year’s European champions, served as a stark reminder of the need to be cautious.

He said: “What may seem like a great idea when your club or country is doing well or when a player is something of a hero can very quickly turn to embarrassment when the club fails or the player leaves.

“We regularly see clients who come asking to have their football tattoo removed.”

Tattoos can be inked in a relatively short space of time, but removing one can take months.