Every imaginable illustration from a Star Wars character to a swastika has been done at least once before.

But Adam Vollans thinks he might be unique after having a male friend's name inked onto his forearm - for charity.

Mr Vollans, 22, offered the space on his arm to the highest bid and, true to his word, allowed winning bidder Martyn Gilleard to have his name tattooed for the modest sum of £250.

He dreamed up the charity stunt to raise cash in memory of his grandmother Betty Vollans, who had suffered with the lung condition emphysema for six years until her death aged 74 earlier this year.

Mr Vollans gritted his teeth for nearly two hours yesterday morning as tattoo artist Steve Dagg covered his arm with the legend: M Gilleard.

Afterwards Mr Vollans he said: "I now have got a bloke's name tattooed on my arm - but then again it's better than having a lass's name, as my girlfriend Louise would go mad. I didn't have enough room on my arm for his full name."

He admitted that his father Tony had not wanted him to get the tattoo.

"He shook his head at me at first, he was not too impressed. After he saw the sponsorship money coming in he gave me fifty quid."

He has raised £900 and thinks his grandma, whom he lived with for the last two years, would have been proud of him.

"I was always close to my grandma and was really upset when she died. I was on holiday in Cyprus when I got the call to say she had died. I had watched her deteriorate more and more. She meant a lot to me. She was the sort of person who was happy with the simple things in life as long as she had her family around her."

After returning from holiday he was made redundant as a warehouse worker at Roseby's in Selby but did not let the setback stop him from thinking of ways to raise money for the British Lung Foundation.

"I wanted to think of something original because everybody is raising money for something these days," said Mr Vollans, of Thorpe Willoughby, near Selby,

"It's not easy when you lose someone close to you, but rather than thinking and wishing, I decided to go out and make a difference in her memory.

"I reckon Betty would have been really humbled by the amount of support that this has received and so I am happy in that respect. I am going to continue to do more work to support the British Lung Foundation,"

Tattoo artist Steve Degg, of Scorpio Tattoos in Selby, who did the inking free of charge, said: "I've had a few unusual tattoos in the 10 years I have been working. One man wanted the different signs on a washing machine - 30 degrees, 40 degrees, etc - on their leg. Some ask for Latin words but they would not tell me what the words meant.

"I tell people to think and be responsible before having a tattoo of a girlfriend of boyfriend. We do a lot of cover-ups (of unwanted tattoos). I am not happy to take people's money and just say goodbye. I only did Adam's strange tattoo because it is for charity."

Last night Mr Gilleard, 26, who works as a silo cleaner, said he was happy to part with £250 for a good cause.

"I've known Adam for a long time. We went to the same primary school and he used to be a neighbour. The tattoo is a bit mad but it's a good cause and means a lot to Adam. I'm glad I could give a bit of money towards it."

www.justgiving.com/adamvollans