Len Bestovhidi, a 42 year old homeless man, had set up a makeshift tattoo studio in an alley behind local shops in Luton, UK. After several people complained of infections and poor artistry, police visited the alley where he had set up a table resting on wheelie bins with a handwritten sign on cardboard reading “Tats a fiver”.
Police discovered a box of unwashed and bloody rats teeth and an ice-cream tub placed under a commercial waste bin belonging to the local butchers which was gradually filling with the ‘bin juice’. After speaking to Mr Bestovhidi he admitted to offering the service but denied it was unsanitary.
Offered me a cheap tattoo
In court were several of his victims, all of which had caught serious infections after receiving tattoos. One customer Edith Nobleston said “I’d had a few drinks and walking home this guy offered me a cheap tattoo and I thought why not? I said I wanted a cute kitten on my upper arm but I ended up with an ugly fish on my neck!. To be fair we were both a bit pissed and I couldn’t see what he was doing as it was dark and there wasn’t a mirror”
Another victim, Wyn Shies says I’ve had a few tatts done by traditional methods including skin stitch and some bamboo stuff in rural Thailand and when I left the pub he must have spotted them before he approached me offering to do a stick and poke tatt so I jumped at the chance. I saw the ‘needles’ that looked like rodent teeth but he said they were traditional ones carved from badger bone and the tub of ink he said was obtained from a ‘natural source’. I wanted a Celtic band around my thigh but ended up with the word ‘feck’ on my arse which turned bright green and septic after 2 days.
The trial is due to last 2 weeks.
