Mum's Fury As Tattooist Inks £70 'Monstrosity' On 16-Year-Old's Arm

Mum's Fury As Tattooist Inks £70 'Monstrosity' On 16-Year-Old's Arm

A furious mum has warned other parents that a tattoo parlour in East Kilbride is illegally tattooing under-age children.

Sharon Fox was outraged to discover her 16-year-old son Dominic had a cross tattooed on his arm by the Tongue-N-Cheek tattoo shop after he lied about his age.

Dominic, who turned 16 in December, claims he was not asked for further identification after he told them he was old enough to be inked.

Sharon also complained to her local newspaper that the £70 cross on Dominic's right arm was 'squint'.

"Parents need to be aware that they are getting money off kids. They took my son's word for it that he was 18, but he doesn't even look 16," Mrs Fox raged.

"The tattoo is a monstrosity. I wouldn't have even given him £10 for it. I think it's an absolute disgrace tattooing underage kids. Fair enough, my son lied, but he should have been asked for ID."

The livid mum also said that because Dominic suffers from epilepsy the shock of getting the tattoo could have caused him to fit.

The newspaper spoke to the tattooist, Stuart Don, about her complaint, and was told that Dominic appeared to look of 'legal age' so ID was not asked for, however the shop's owner Edward Lyons then told the paper that Dominic HAD been asked to provide proof of age and had produced a fake document.

Mr Lyons also refuted Mrs Fox's claim that the tattoo was 'squint' saying that it was an 'exact replica of the non-symmetrical design chosen by Dominic'.

"He got what he asked for and said he was delighted with the cross," Mr Lyons said, adding that he was 'annoyed that Dominic lied and deceived the tattooist and put his job and livelihood at risk'.

In 2008 it was reported that the establishment, then unlicensed, had tattooed a 17-year-old boy. Mr Lyons had said that the boy claimed to be 20 and came in with his 'guardian' who signed a consent form.

The local council are investigating Mrs Fox's complaint.

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