TATTOO artists have been left overwhelmed after raising more than £20,000 for the victims and families of those affected by the Manchester terror attack.

Parlours in Wilmslow and Handforth have raised impressive totals by doing Manchester worker bee tattoos in exchange for a donation to the Manchester Tattoo Appeal.

Sharp Art Studios, in The Paddock, raised £18,954 for the fund by doing the tattoos from Sunday, May 28 to Friday, June 2.

Nick Carroll, from Sharp Art Studios, was delighted by the campaign's response.

“We’re really happy about it,” he told the Guardian.

“We first thought if we could just raise about £5,000 we would have done well, but it’s gone mad from there.

“It was only supposed to be on the bank holiday weekend but because so many people wanted it we carried on doing them until the Friday.

“Lots of first timers decided this was the right time to have a tattoo done, and it was all for a good cause so we’re really pleased.”

Tattoo parlours around the north west got involved with the appeal, which had raised £324,983 as the Guardian went to print.

Nick added: "I think it shows that everyone was determined to do something to help.

"When attacks like this happen there's not much we can do about it, but it shows that people really wanted to do something.

"There are still people asking if they can have the tattoos done, but we've got to pay the rent somehow."

Meanwhile, The Tattoo Company, in Hawthorn Lane, raised £1, 700 by doing the bee tattoos on Monday, May 29.

Owner Laura Hardy said: "We're quite proud of it.

"The worker bee is a very significant symbol for Manchester, and we've all done them as tattoos before.

"We charged £50 per tattoo and all the money has gone to the fund. More people have wanted the tattoo and we've sent them to other parlours that have been offering the bee for longer."

Cheshire Ink, in Hawthorn Lane, also raised money for the fund by doing worker bee tattoos over the bank holiday weekend.

For more information on the Manchester Tattoo Appeal and to donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/manchestertattooappeal