Swaffham dad gets daughter's brain surgery scar tattoo

Aaron Lambert described daughter Esme as his "absolute world"

A father has had an image of his four-year-old daughter's brain surgery scar tattooed on his head so she does not feel like the "odd one out".

Aaron Lambert's daughter Esme was diagnosed with a rare high-grade tumour near the spinal cord aged two.

The decorator from Swaffham, Norfolk, said she had "smiled her wait through nearly two years of treatment".

"I wanted it done because I felt whatever happened to her also happens to me," he said of the tattoo.

Esme underwent an eight-hour operation to remove the tumour, which left her with a 3in (7.6cm) scar on the back of her neck.

"I hunted around for someone who specialises in realism as it was important to me that the tattoo looked just like Esme's scar," Mr Lambert said.

"I wanted us to be matching and for her not to feel she was the odd one out in any way."

Esme recently celebrated her fourth birthday with a chocolate fountain and pass the parcel

After the operation and 19 months of chemotherapy, Esme was given the all-clear.

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Her father said she had "amazed" the family with her "resilience, positivity and enthusiasm for love and life".

The family said the future was "full of hope"

The tattoo took three hours to complete.

"Our journeys were so entwined and I wanted her to know that daddy is proud of her and supporting her every step of the way," Mr Lambert said.

His wife, Wendy Lambert, said Esme "loves having a matching scar with her daddy".

"There is nothing Aaron wouldn't do for his baby girl to help her and make her feel loved and confident," she said.