Dundee City Council’s licensing convener Rod Wallace has fired a broadside at unlicensed tattoo artists operating in the city.
Mr Wallace said he and other members of the licensing committee had been made aware of “horrendous stories” involving unlicensed operators and underlined his and the council’s commitment to “clean up this industry”.
He said: “We have serious concerns over the tattoo industry where people have been operating from unlicensed premises. It is a requirement of this committee to make the public aware that this is an ongoing problem and anyone who is caught in unlicensed premises will be dealt with and any equipment will be seized and destroyed.
“Five years ago we made known our growing concerns over this practice and we do know it’s still going on in Dundee. There have been some horrendous stories and we are investigating the problem.”
He told the licensing committee on Thursday that tattooing is strictly controlled and is available only to over-18s, while those over 16 can have piercings.
“Our officers enforce these conditions and we give them our full support in trying to clean up this industry.”
Mr Wallace said following previous publicity surrounding unlicenced tattoo premises, a member of the public had come forward with information and the matter had been reported to Tayside Police.
Photo by Flickr user JD Photography.