Luton fan celebrates promotion with head tattoo after making promise to his late dad

A Luton Town fan has celebrated his team's promotion to the Premier League by getting a tattoo of his club's badge on the back of his head.

Micky Hyde was 16 when he promised his late father Terry he’d get the ink if the Hatters ever made it to the top flight.

The 37-year-old has now honoured that pledge after Luton beat Coventry in the Championship play-off final last month.

The tattoo includes the club's badge, the date Terry died and the words “RIP Dad”.

Micky, a builder from Luton, said: “I was 16 and me and my dad were sitting in our local pub watching Luton play in 2002.

“I said to my dad ‘when Luton get to the Prem I’m getting the badge tattooed on my head’ and he said ‘I don’t think that will happen in my lifetime, son’.

Terry died 10 years later at 49 from sudden death syndrome.

Micky added: “He was a local football coach for 30 years in Luton and was a steward at Kenilworth Road as well.

“There are about 160 members of my family in Luton and we’re all mad about the club."

Tattoo artist Trudi Woodward didn’t believe Micky when he first told her what he wanted when she spoke to him while he was doing her patio.

But she went on giving up two hours of her time to do the work for free.

Micky has 11 other tattoos but said the new one was by far the worst pain.

He said he used numbing cream at first but that wore off within 10 minutes and it then “felt like my brain was getting drilled”.

Father-of-five Micky is due to marry his fiancee Lisa-Marie White, 40, in August and she has demanded no photos are taken of them from behind on the big day.

He said he wasn't worried she would call the wedding off after seeing the tattoo.

Micky added: “When she saw it she just thought I was mad but she knows what I’m like and she didn’t fall out with me at all.

“She’s a good woman and knows what my dad means to me so there was no chance of the wedding getting called off.”

Micky has pledged to go one better and get LTFC tattooed across his forehead if Luton win the Premier League this season.