A man spent more than €11,000 covering his body in tattoos in order to distract himself from his facial birthmark.
Heywood Taylor, a photographer and videographer, was born with a mark on his left cheek, under his eye - which left him with crippling anxiety throughout his life.
As a child, he was often asked what was wrong with his face, while other children mistook his birthmark for a bruise or a burn.
He was once told that his birthmark was 'ugly' and was advised to get it removed, but Heywood doesn't recall feeling any misery as a result of the mark while growing up.
However, by the time he reached his late teens, he began to struggle with looking different from his peers and in public he felt paranoid about what people thought.
Having noticed that people were staring at him, he developed social anxiety and agoraphobia - a disorder in which a person develops anxiety when in unfamiliar situations or surroundings.
Heywood went on to discover the gym and by getting into shape his confidence grew as did his desire to cover his body in art.
Although Heywood, from Newcastle, still receives stares from strangers, he says that by covering such visible parts of his body in artwork, he has managed to ‘take back control.'
He said: “I remember people staring and often asking me if I was okay. A couple of times I was told it was ugly and that I should get it removed, but at the time I didn’t pay it much notice.
“It wasn’t until my late teens and early twenties that I really began to struggle with having a birthmark.
“I remember getting very paranoid when in public and uncomfortable, not because people would or had ever said anything, but simply because of people staring.
“I could not stand people looking at me and then looking away awkwardly. It made me feel horrendous and I suffered from cold sweats.
“I found myself overweight and miserable, contemplating the end so I joined a gym and it saved me at that time.
“I would gradually regain my self confidence and after a few years, I had learned to believe in myself again, and with a good boost of ego I grew in confidence.
“It was at this point that I started really getting tattooed.
“I had had a few tattoos before, but once I was getting in better shape and my confidence grew, I actually felt more comfortable to start getting tattooed more."
