Tattoo artist found with makeshift studio in shed after customer dies of sepsis

11 January 2024 , 10:39

1044     0

The garden shed became a makeshift tattoo parlour

A man offering tattoos from a makeshift studio in his shed has been fined £1,000 after a customer died from sepsis.

Tony James Learmount, 35, was found guilty of operating in a garden shed not registered to carry out tattooing at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. Magistrates heard Learmount was reported to the council last summer.

Prosecutor Thomas Durance said on May 9, 2023, public protection officers from Middlesbrough Council were contacted by Cleveland Police following the death of a man from sepsis.

He told the court: "The infection had originally developed around the area of a new tattoo. Cleveland Police investigated and this led to confirmation that the tattooist was Mr Tony James Learmount of Donnington Green, Middlesbrough. The same location where the tattoo had taken place."

The court heard police visited the property, seized equipment and arrested Learmount. Photographs were taken of the shed which showed the defendant was operating a make-shift tattoo studio.

Sherlock Holmes Museum boss wins fight to evict brother from home in 10-year row

Mr Durance said on May 10, 2023, public protection officers visited the premises to see if the 35-year-old was still tattooing from the shed. The prosecutor said he notified them he was no longer going to be tattooing and said the outbuilding had been stripped of all equipment.

Mr Durance stated: "He could not remember how long he had been operating from the shed at the time. Despite a request by public protection officers, Mr Learmount was unable to provide a list of customers that he had tattooed at the studio. He 'burned the paperwork' in his own words."

The council shared pictures taken inside the shed

The address at Donington Green is not registered as a premise to carry out tattooing as required by law, the prosecutor added but noted that the police investigation into the man's death concluded without action. Learmount found himself let off after a hearing on Tuesday where he was accused of failing to register his address as his tattooing premises on or about May 1, 2023 - the council's case was proven in Learmount's absence.

Sentencing, the magistrates commented: "We are limited in terms of the fine we can impose. I must say we almost certainly would have gone higher. This case has been very troubling - that's as much we can do in this court." Learmount, who lives in Donnington Green, Middlesbrough, was fined £1,000 and had to cough up an extra £400 for a victim surcharge plus £300 towards court fees, Teesside Live says.

Teesside Live has talked about this tattoo artist before. In 2018, he was told to stop working because it wasn't safe for people's health. If you got a tattoo from Learmount, you were told to see your doctor. Middlesbrough Council stopped him after people said his work was dirty.

The council found out that Learmount could really hurt people's health. The court made him stop being a tattoo artist right away. Last year, the police said something nice about Ben Larry, 32, who died on May 6 after getting a bad infection. They also warned everyone about the risks of going to tattoo artists without a license and said to check the Body Art register first. Ben's family are very sad and said he was a "precious, adored, kind and caring son who was loved by everyone."

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to

Georgia Banks