A tattoo loving mum has made the unique pledge to cover her entire body with ink by the time of her 40th birthday.

Alex Derbyshire has spent the last 20 years covering her body in tattoos, spending thousands of pounds in the process.

The 38-year-old from Bolton has spent around 200 hours in the process of getting inked.

Alex's love for modification began during childhood and as soon as she turned 18, which is the legal age to get inked in the UK, she began her body transformation with a subtle Celtic design on her lower back.

The following years saw her add 16 further pieces across her body, all of which could then be concealed by clothing.

But when entering her 30s, the barber ventured more down the path of doing what she wanted rather than caring what people thought of her and got further tattoos on her face, toes, armpits, neck, back, and arms.

"Ive always loved tattoos. Before I was old enough to get one, I was dying to know what they felt like," Alex said.

I have no idea how much Ive spent in total it must be quite a few thousand pounds but thats been spread across two decades, during which, on average, Ive had one to two large pieces done a year.

I have had the odd nasty comment, with people telling me Im stupid for spending so much money on them, but that doesnt bother me.

"To me, tattoos are a hobby and an art form why shouldnt I show them off?

Single mum Alex, who also runs a vintage memorabilia shop in Ramsbottom, said her love for ink has mirrored the cultural shift towards them being accepted.

When I first started getting tattoos 20 years ago, they werent as common as they are now, and not as appreciated as an art form," she said.

People could still be a little judgemental about them, so I wanted to get them in places I could easily hide and cover up.

"I was really inspired by the people I was seeing on Instagram especially other women. Its a really friendly community and I love seeing everybodys individual art work, and the sorts of styles and designs they go for.

Her love of music plays an integral part in her body art, with several pieces dedicated to Pink Floyd and Johnny Cash lyrics on her foot.

There is also a portrait of Sweeney Todd - a dark nod to her job as a barber.

But one of her most distinguishing tattoos is her blackwork.

The blackwork is more about the style than any sort of meaning, she explained.

I started getting it about four years ago. As its a completely solid tattoo almost as if youre colouring in a piece of paper its more high intensity pain. And its not like you can ask them to stop. Once you get going, thats it."

"The most painful places Ive had tattoos so far are my back, armpit and my toes. I didnt expect that to hurt quite as much as it did. I have a couple of tattoos on my face mainly little linear designs done in white ink, so they arent super visible which was a very strange sensation. You can feel the vibration going through your whole body the second that gun touches your skin.

"The longest Ive ever sat without a break is probably around six hours to have my neck tattoo done. It sounds odd, but sometimes I almost dont want a break I just want to power through. The pain is like a challenge, to see how far I can push my body. Sometimes when you break through that barrier, its almost meditative.

Even big burly blokes need a little breather every now and then, though. You can find your body starts to shake a bit after a while.

Now almost completely covered, she hopes to have all her work completed by the time she turns 40 in December 2022.

She said: My ribs arent tattooed and I have a couple of patches on my right leg, but thats it. I have all the actual designs I want done. Now, I just need to fill in the gaps with more blackwork. Im aiming to have an entire bodysuit done and dusted by the time I turn 40 though obviously getting tattoos is on hold at the moment, given the national lockdown.

Alexs two sons, Joseph, 18, and Liam, 12, are also big fans of her ink and she anticipates they will follow in her footsteps.

She added: Joseph is 18 now, but doesnt have any tattoos of his own yet. I can see him getting a couple.

"I think Liam will be more like me, as hes a little rocker. Sometimes he rolls his eyes, as if to say, Whatve you done now, Mum? but I know he likes them really.

Over the years, Alex his built up a following of more than 20 thousand followers on her Instagram page where she shares pictures of her tattoos.

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The mum looking to fully cover her body in tattoos by the time she is 40 - Lancs Live