SCHOOLBOY Max Cashman has been scarred by a holiday tattoo filled with poison.

Eight-year-old Max was left in agony with weeping sores when he suffered a delayed reaction to the henna tattoo which he received while holidaying with his family in Turkey.

Doctors have told his parents Vicky and Jason that their son will carry the dragon-shaped scar for life unless he undergoes a skin graft.

Max, of Hartburn, Sockton, Teesside, has been unable to join in at school playtime because the 10cm by 10cm wound is still very painful.

Mrs Cashman, 32, said: "We just can't believe it.

"Lots of children were getting them done at the hotel and we never thought it would put him at risk."

The family, of Ravensworth Grove, agreed to let Max and their other son Luke, 14, receive the black tattoos on offer at their hotel complex at the beginning of their sunshine break.

Mrs Cashman said: "The tattooist said they could go back and get it re-done if it washed off.

"So Max went back and got it done again but told me afterwards that it scratched a lot more than the first time and hurt him."

Max's skin began to swell on the way home.

When they returned, Mrs Cashman took him to the accident and emergency department of the University Hospital of North Tees, in Stockton.

Dr Daron Seukeran, consultant dermatologist at Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital, said: "The problem with these dyes is you don't know what they contain or which substances they have been mixed with.

"The best advice for people thinking of getting one of these henna tattoos is to have a skin test between 24 and 48 hours beforehand."