20/11/2015
Another Illegal Scratcher Prosecuted
http://www.itv.com/news/wales/topic/cardiff/
An unregistered tattooist commonly known as a ‘scratcher’ has been successfully prosecuted by the new Shared Regulatory Service at the City of Cardiff Council. Environmental Health Officers took action against Mr Lee Gronow after receiving reports that he was tattooing people without the required registration and advertising his services on Social Media.
Mr Gronow of Riverside, Cardiff, attended Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on 6th November 2015 and pleaded guilty to carrying on the business of tattooing when he was not registered and operating from premises’ that were not fit for purpose, contrary to Section 15(1)(a) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. He was ordered to pay a total £440.
Scratchers like Mr. Gronow present a significantly increased risk of their clients developing serious, and potentially life threatening, infections such as Hepatitis and HIV, as well as serious skin infections which require medical intervention. They are also damaging the trade, and reputation, of legitimate tattooists who work hard to operate within the law.
Mrs Christina Hill, Operational Manager Commercial Services for Shared Regulatory Services said ‘There is a presumption by the public that all businesses offering invasive treatments such as tattooing are regulated, safe to use and pose little risk to health. Unfortunately, as this case illustrates, this is not always the case. Our advice to anyone thinking about having a tattoo would be to only use registered, reputable businesses’.
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