A TAVISTOCK tattooist, along with a brave client, is soon hoping to be a world record holder — aiming to break the record for the longest tattoo session.

Luke Rudden, artist at Gypsy Rose Tattoo Studio in West Street, is hoping to break the current record of the longest tattoo session with a team of two (one artist, one client), which currently stands at 50 hours and 10 minutes.

Luke, who has been at Gypsy Rose for a year now, has enlisted the help of a willing West Devon volunteer Joe Chattind for the challenge.

Luke said: 'I'm thinking we will try to do about 55 to 60 hours so it is a fair win, although I don't know how I'll feel when it gets to that time.

'Joe's had quite a few tattoos by me. I mentioned my idea to him when he was in and he said he was quite interested. He sits well and doesn't feel too much pain so he's up for it.'

Luke said the idea for the challenge came about when he was looking on the internet at LA tattooist Kat Von D, star of reality TV show LA Ink, and her record of the most tattoos done in 24 hours.

'It got me wondering what the record for the longest session was, so I looked it up and saw YouTube videos of it. It tempted me and I thought it would be a good way to raise some money for charity.'

During the challenge, Luke is hoping to raise money for the Derriford Neonatal Unit, Heartbeat House in Southampton — a place for relatives of people who are being treated at the Cardiac Centre to stay — and Help for Heroes.

Luke's close friend and piercer at the shop is Rowan Payne whose sons have been helped by Derriford Neonatal Unit and Heartbeat House, and Luke spent time in the Army.

To beat the world record, the tattooing must be continuous, although a short break is allowed every four hours.

Luke said as he likes doing realism and portraiture, Joe will be having a leg sleeve made up of portraits.

'I normally spend about six hours on a portrait, but the plan for this is to spend around 10 hours on each one,' he said.

'I am used to tattooing for long periods, sometimes up to 12 hours. It is mentally draining because you're spending a long time concentrating. But if you're really into something, you don't really think about how long it has been, you just want to put everything you've got into it to see the final product.'

In terms of training for the challenge, Luke will be tattooing Rowan for a full day and night, following the Guinness World Book of Records rules.

No date has been officially set for the challenge yet, as Luke is in need of professional timekeepers to record his efforts.

'We need people qualified in time keeping to help us out. We have to video record it all, then all the evidence gets sent off to the Guinness World Book of Records to be evaluated and they'll come back to us to let us know if we've done it.'

Luke said they already had a few witnesses taking part but 'the more the merrier'. As soon as they have enough witnesses and time keepers, Luke will set a date.

'I'm hoping for the end of April — It should be really good fun.'