AN angry tattooist is hoping to trace a customer who ran off without paying his bill using a photograph of the unique body art to identify him.

Karl Stevens, who runs the White Flame tattoo studio in Winton, was left £400 out of pocket last week after the man went to a cashpoint to pay for his four-hour tattoo sitting and never returned.

However, before the man fled, Mr Stevens, 43, took a close-up photo of the ‘full sleeve’ tattoo for his portfolio, and he has uploaded it to social media sites in the hope people will identify the man and shame him into paying.

Mr Stevens posted on Facebook: “Please can you share this pic.

“This man had a final sitting on his sleeve tattoo and said he was going to a cashpoint to get £400 and ran off, owing the lovely guys at White Flame in Bournemouth £400.

“Can you help find him and get people to share if anyone knows him.”

The unnamed customer had previously visited the studio for four sessions to complete the black and grey tattoo, which covers his entire left arm from his shoulder to his cuff.

The body art features red and white roses, the faces of young women and Roman numerals.

The man had paid the hourly rate of £95 for the previous sittings.

Mr Stevens’ assistant Lula Bell, 31, said: “After Karl finished he took a photo of the tattoo to advertise his work before the arm was wrapped in cling film to protect it.

“The guy said he was going to have to go to the cashpoint for the money. We thought it would be okay because he had always paid but he never returned.

“After 15 minutes or so we thought that the cashpoint must be broken and he had to go and find another one.

“But I called the police after half-an-hour because it is the same as shoplifting.”

She added: “If I did what he did in a supermarket or a shop I would be arrested for theft. It is theft.”

A spokesman for Dorset Police said it was investigating an alleged fraud at a tattoo parlour at around 2pm on Thursday, February 26.

Contact Dorset Police with information on 101 quoting crime number 9119.