THE success story of Monmouth's tattoo and piercing emporium continues as they further expand their operation - and were rewarded with a visit from a celebrity who extols the virtues of tattoos.

Inky Fingers opened for business in May this year from its Church Street location as the town's only licensed business to carry out this type of work.

But with the Free Press' move to a ground floor location, proprietors Lee Hooper and Miss Milly took the opportunity to expand into the vacant office to create a waiting room, a private piercing room and reception area, which is entered from The Barton.

During the up-heaval of the move, former Spice Girl Melanie C, famed for her love of tattoos, visited the owners to see for herself how they operated.

Mr Hooper said: "Melanie C is stunning and is living proof that very feminine women can carry large tattoos off and still remain very attractive."

Miss Milly added: "It was an honour to have a visitor of this calibre. She told us that she has taken a five-year break from being tattooed but hasn't ruled out being 'inked' in the near future.

"Melanie was also very complimentary about how clean and modern our shop is, despite the chaos going on around us at the time."

Inky Fingers have now taken over the whole of the first floor, which is located above the barbers Helmet Hair, which is also expanding to create a women's salon.

Over the past six months, the owners have created a relaxed and happy atmosphere, and they are also concerned for their customers' welfare too.

They don't allow anybody to rush into having a tattoo without going through the procedures and they turn customers away who don't meet the criteria and give out relevant advice where required.

For others who have had tattoos emblazoned on their body in haste in the past can now have them erased as they have just been allowed to offer a removal service following an inspection and registration of the salon.