Another illegal ‘scratcher’ in Preston has been prosecuted and stopped from operating an unregistered tattoo business.



Mr Michael Cain of Houldsworth Road, Preston was found guilty in his absence at Preston Magistrates’ Court on 1 February 2017.

Reports of illegal tattooists - known as ‘scratchers’ – are taken very serious by the council. Every effort is taken to investigate these scratchers in order to stop them tattooing and to prosecute them for operating illegally. The council encourages people to come forward and name these individuals operating in the area as they pose a significant risk to members of the public and other persons who are receiving tattoos, especially from blood borne pathogens.

Mr Cain failed to attend the hearing and District Judge Goodwin agreed to proceed in his absence.

During the sentencing, the District Judge remarked the evidence showed that the offences had:
created a high risk of harm to the occupiers of the dwelling, customers and others such as those collecting the waste from the house
been committed for financial gain
Mr Cain had failed to respond to earlier advice and warnings
Mr Cain was sentenced to pay £330 for each offence of failing to register as a tattooist and failing to register the premises where he carried out his business. He was also ordered to pay £33 victims’ surcharge and £1,315 prosecution costs. This made a total of £2,008, which he was ordered to pay by 29 March 2017.
Councillor John Swindells, Cabinet member for planning and regulation, said:
“Illegal scratchers pose a real danger to the public’s health, often using toxic inks and unsterilized equipment that can have a serious risk of spreading diseases such as hepatitis or HIV, as well as the potential to cause permanent ugly scarring.
“People often tell us that the quality of the tattoo they had done was so poor that they had to spend time and money getting it corrected by a registered tattoo artist.

“These unregistered tattooists are often willing to illegally tattoo children and can cause damage that lasts a lifetime, knowing that children will be unlikely to report them to us or the Police. If people know of any illegal tattooists in their community then we would urge them to contact us.”