A tattoo parlour in Huddersfield is really making its mark for charity.
Painted People in Birkby is raising hundreds of pounds for good causes by tattooing people with a very special symbol.
And customers are queueing up to have a semi-colon grammar mark tattooed on their body at £15 a time. Then every penny of the fee goes to two mental health charities as well as the British Heart Foundation.
So far, Painted People has raised more than £500 - and counting.
Globally, the semi-colon is being used as a symbol to draw attention to mental health issues.
People are displaying their tattoos on Facebook pages and groups of friends and families are going in for matching designs.
Painted People owner Louise Hewitt said the semi-colon scheme started about six weeks ago.
The aim is to support the Huddersfield-based Great Outdoors charity which uses eco-therapy to help people with mental health problems, getting them out of the house. And donations are also going to the BHF and Inkwell in Leeds.
Louise said: “An awful lot of people have come forward for the tattoos and it is getting more popular as word gets around.
“We have also been getting requests to put them in unusual places - such as behind the ears or on feet and fingers.
“We often help charities in a behind the scenes way to support the community.”
Chris Russell, who volunteers at the parlour, said Inkwell provides a safe place for people to go and get mental health support through arts and crafts.
“We are finding that people sometimes want the semi-colon in various designs and placings to represent issues in their own lives,” he said.
He said the project is due to run until around Hallowe’en.
