Luton Town fan gets badge tattooed on head for late father

Micky Hyde said he had "gone through some pain in my life, but that was painful"

A Luton Town fan has got the team's badge tattooed onto the back of his head to fulfil a promise made to his late dad.

20 years ago, Micky Hyde told his father, Terry Hyde, that he would get the tattoo if they ever earned promotion to the Premier League.

His father, a lifelong Luton fan, died suddenly in 2013.

The finished tattoo includes the Luton Town badge, the date Terry Hyde died and the words "R.I.P DAD".

Artist Trudi Woodward shared the finished tattoo on TikTok where it quickly earned half a million views

Trudi Woodward, from Inktrusion, did not charge for the tattoo when she heard of the personal significance

Tattoo artist Trudi Woodward was nervous about working on such a prominent and visible tattoo.

"I did try putting him off having it done on his head," said Miss Woodward, who had never tattooed the back of a head before.

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She told BBC Three Counties Radio that it would have been very painful for Mr Hyde.

"You have to work pretty quick to stop it bleeding as well, but he took it like a champ," the needle-wielder said.

Micky Hyde's fiancee, Lisa White, has told him that no photos are to be taken of the back of his head during their upcoming wedding

Mr Hyde said he was a proud Lutonian and dedicated supporter of the Hatters. He added that the reaction from locals had been "madness."

"I go in the shop and hear 'that's the man with the tattoo', and I walk down the road and kids ask to have pictures with me".

"My dad was a steward at the Kenilworth for years" he said. "I just know how proud my dad would be that I stuck to my word."