A TATTOOIST in Leamington has thanked kind-hearted residents for helping him raise money for victims of the Manchester terror attack.
The bombing at Manchester Arena after a concert by US singer Ariana Grande left 23 people dead, a number of them children and teenagers, and a further 59 injured – some critically.
Soon after the attack, people started to get ‘Manchester bee’ tattoos – which became the symbol of defiance. The worker bee was adopted as a motif for the city during the Industrial Revolution.
And despite being 120 miles away, Lillington tattooist Matt Gardener knew he wanted to do his bit.
On June 22 – a month after the attack – he opened his tattoo studio to raise money for the victims’ families. Matt spent the day marking people with bee tattoos and charging £22 for each one.
He raised an impressive £520 and says the day was emotional but worthwhile.
Matt – of Ink On Skinz on Crown Way – said: “We all need to stand together. As parents we cannot begin to imagine the pain caused to the victims’ families.
“We would like to thank the whole community far and wide for helping raise these funds for the victims’ families.
“This was a huge effort by myself, my wife Chantelle and our customers. We hope these funds reach the victims’ families and offer some relief at such a difficult time.”
Greater Manchester Police say the 22 year-old bomber Salman Abedi – who died in the blast – was carrying a homemade explosive device, which was detonated shortly after the singer left the stage of the 21,000 capacity venue.
