An unlicensed Isle of Wight tattooist operating out of his own home has been sentenced for marking a 15-year-old child ‘for life’.

Anthony Betts, of Newport Road, Lake, appeared before Isle of Wight magistrates on Tuesday, July 23.

The 63-year-old admitted tattooing a person under the age of 18 for reasons other than medical, in Sandown, between May 28 and July 5.

Prosecutor, Liz Miller, said the child was just 15 years old at the time, and the court heard Betts was not a licensed tattooist.

Oscar Vincent, defending, said the tattoo was very small, and on the child’s thigh.

He said it was not a complex tattoo; just a simple design, around 5cm in circumference.

Betts, a heavily inked man himself, with numerous facial tattoos, was told by magistrates he knew how old the child was, knew it was not legal, and that child was now “marked for life”.

Betts was fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £48 surcharge.