A MANCHESTER United fan is set to make the ultimate sacrifice to help a poorly little girl suffering from leukaemia.

Wayne Ryan has pledged to get a Liverpool FC tattoo on his leg to raise money for the youngster who is battling the disease – if enough money can be raised to help her family.

The Northern Echo: Wayne

Manchester United fan Wayne Ryan has pledged to get a Liverpool FC tattoo on his leg to raise money for 

The 32-year-old football fan, who lives in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, is a season ticket holder at Old Trafford and admits that he “detests” Liverpool – Manchester United’s great rivals.

But that won’t stop him getting the rival club’s badge tattooed on his calf to raise money for four-year-old Mia Tate, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia earlier this year.

He said: “I’m a Manchester United fan as everyone knows and I detest Liverpool so I though this was a good way of making a little bit of money for the poor lass.

“You wouldn’t normally catch me putting a Liverpool shirt on for a minute. People know how much of a big deal this is for me.”

In a bid to cover his embarrassment Wayne has chosen where the tattoo will go.

“I’ll get it on the back of my calf,” he said.

“But I wear shorts five days a week so, sadly, there will be no hiding it.”

Wayne said people who found out about the challenge thought he was crazy but most of his friends – and fellow Manchester United fans – appreciated why he was doing it.

“It’s just a bit different to jumping out of a plane,” he said, adding that it was his friends who are Liverpool fans who have been the most generous and were sponsoring him £50 to get the tattoo done.

Wayne says he will book the tattoo as soon as his fundraising appeal hits £1,000.

The deal is that the father-of-three has to have the tattoo for at least a year.

He then plans to get it professionally covered-up.

All money raised from the tattoo challenge will go to Mia’s family to help them during her illness.

Mia, also from Shotton Colliery, had been poorly for weeks with what doctors thought was an infection.

But after numerous courses of antibiotics, her parents Hayley Foster and Liam Tate were given the devastating news that she had cancer.

In a bid to help, the Liverpool tattoo will be done for free by the Twisted Arts tattoo studio in Skeeby, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

To sponsor Wayne, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wayne-ryan