Hundreds attend Halloween Tattoo Bash 2019 at Wolverhampton Racecourse - in pictures

In fact this is the Halloween Tattoo Bash at Wolverhampton Racecourse where scores of body-art fans are taking the opportunity to add to their personal collections.

Hundreds of people attended the two-day annual event which has been held at the Dunstall Hill venue for the past five years.

Among them was Georgina Corbett, a tattoo artist from West Bromwich, who was about to give her boyfriend, 21-year-old Dominic Mills, his first body etching.

The warehouse assistant, also from West Bromwich, had chosen a skull with a helmet as his debut piece of body art. He said: "I'd not planned to have this done but Gina has a spare time slot so I'm going for it."

Georgina, who works at The Tattoo Lounge in Princess Alley, Wolverhampton, says: "I had my first tattoo at 18, as soon as I could legally and I've been doing it myself for three years, I love the art."

Also at the event was Alex McCarthy, 24, whose father, Brendan McCarthy, was jailed for 40 months earlier this year for controversial practices such as tongue-splitting which he performed at his tattoo studio, Dr Evil’s Body Modification Emporium in Wolverhampton.

The 50-year-old extreme body artist was the main organiser of the Halloween Tattoo Bash. Alex said: "It's a bit emotional I spoke to him on the phone just now and he should be here."

A life-size cardboard cut-out of her father was placed on a stage at the event. She sports a tattoo of a fisherman in her arm in tribute to her father as well as her mother and grandmother's favourite flowers.

"My right arm is like a family tree, it's personal. Some people have artwork on their walls but what if their house burns down? I carry mine with me and when I'm old and losing my memory, it will remind me of the people and places I've known.

"I like the way I look, it's my way of expressing myself," she said.

Daryl Healey, from Manchester, was one of dozens of tattoo artists who had travelled from around the country to attend the bash.

He said people pay around £20,000 – £25,000 over their lifetime for a total tattoo cover-up, with a 'sleeve' or arm, for example, which can take up to five days to complete, costing an average £2,000.

His girlfriend, shop assistant Clare Moram, 35, was scrolling through her social media messages while he worked on inking a beast-like head, from the Disney film Beauty and The Beast.

She said: "My dad had a tattoo and I always wanted one. Some people ask 'Why do you do that to yourself?' but others say it looks amazing. I want my whole body done eventually."

The bash was raising money for Wolverhampton-based charity, the Baby Blues Appeal, which raises money for equipment for babies born with problems at New Cross and Walsall Manor hospitals.

Helping to run this year's event, Jo Webster, from Cannock, said: "It's been fantastic, a kind of end-of-year party for body artists. They've come here from all over the UK, and have been for the past five years.

"But one of our main purposes is to raise money for local good causes and we've raised almost £30,000 since we started the event."