Home town gets under the skin of tattoo fan with lifelong Abbey habit

The father-of-three has had an intricate tattoo of Selby’s medieval abbey etched on to his back in a lasting tribute to the North Yorkshire town.

Mr Hick, 52, sat through four sessions spanning a total of 10 hours over a 12-month period to have the A4-sized tattoo of the abbey emblazoned on to his body.

The sales rep, who still lives in the town, said: “The abbey is a building that forms part of so many of my earliest recollections.

“I grew up in the area and there’s something amazing about the sheer, absolute beauty of it. I remember looking up at it when I was learning to ride my bike and it just looked fantastic.”

Brian Varey, from the local tattoo parlour, The Eye Of Bri, completed the eye-catching image. He added: “I thought he was taking the mickey at first, but he was set on getting it done so I started getting a template ready.”

Mr Hick also has a tattoo of the iconic Yorkshire Rose encircled by the words Church Fenton – where he spent his earliest years.

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