Tattoo artist claims ‘sabotage’ after ban
Says disgruntled former employee is on vendetta
ATATTOO artist banned from working after council officers found his studio was unhygienic has insisted he was sabotaged.
Environmental Health and Public Protection Officers, accompanied by police, visited Ste Howarth’s business premises in Rawtenstall in August 2023 where it was found a number of unhygienic practices and breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 had occurred.
Rossendale Borough Council then issued a prohibition notice, preventing the studio from opening, while an investigation was ongoing.
Ste, a tattooist of 15 years from Heywood, was then subsequently prosecuted for continuing to operate despite being unregistered to work from his Inkflicted studio in Rawtenstall. He was ordered to pay £1,910 after a hearing at Burnley Magistrates’ Court.
The 33-year-old, who has a new studio in his hometown of Heywood, has now spoken out for the first time and explained the background to the prosecution.
Ste, who says he has created designs for Callum Best and former professional footballer Ashley Cain, insists that a disgruntled former employee is to blame.
“I had a shop in Bolton, in a four-storey studio, and then I moved over to Rawtenstall with my then partner,” Ste said.
“I had paid someone to move all my equipment and stuff to the new place and someone who worked for me at the time was living in the Rawtenstall studio.
“I hadn’t even started working from there yet, but it turns out that he was doing tattoos which is how it all came about.
“I ended up [dismissing] him and since then he’s had this vendetta against me and is trying to sabotage my business.
“Because I was down as the proprietor it was me that got all the s***. He rang the council making up allegations about me.
“The reason they said it was in breach of health and safety regulations is because all of my stuff was just piled up inside in bags. But I’d not started working yet.
\3I’d even approached the council first myself to get registered.
“I’m registered in Bury,
Bolton, Oldham, Salford and basically pretty much everywhere apart from Rossendale. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and I’ve always done things by the book. It’s really affected me but I’m now back in Heywood and am getting a lot of support.”
While Ste admits that, as the owner of Inkflicted, responsibility fell to him, he is a reputable and respected tattoo artist. He said he is determined to move on and continue with his successful business.
After Ste was convicted, a spokesperson for Rossendale Borough Council’s Public Protection Unit said: “More people now opt to get tattoos and
going to unregistered places could lead to the risk of serious infections.
“Unregistered tattooists may operate in unhygienic conditions with poor quality equipment. If equipment isn’t sterilised properly or strict hygiene requirements haven’t been adhered to, there could be an increased risk to health and a tattoo
could result in scarring and/or infection.
“We will not tolerate unlicensed and unregistered tattoo practices that jeopardise the health and safety of our residents.
“This successful prosecution serves as a stern warning to those who operate outside the bounds of the law in our borough.”