A job hunter says he has been unfairly discriminated against after being rejected from 30 potential employers because of a giant neck tattoo dedicated to his late grandfather.
Joe Parsons, 21, got the £ 250 six-inch throbbing red heart with turquoise angel wings in memory of his grandfather Thomas, who died in a care home aged 63 last year.
He got the inking while he was working in a factory, but claims since trying to get a new job he has attended 30 interviews that have gone nowhere.
He has tried attending interviews wearing high-necked shirts but the tips of the wings still peek out above the collar line.
Joe Parsons (pictured), 21, got a 250 pound six-inch throbbing red heart with turquoise angel wings tattooed on his neck in memory of his grandfather, who died in a care home aged 63 last Mr. Parsons, of Collyhurst, north Manchester, insists he does not regret getting the extreme body art - but wishes potential bosses could see past it.
He said: ' Before I got the tattoo people thought I was a happy, confident person. Now it feels like people think I'm full of my self and that I do not give a damn.
'That's just not who I am. I'm just a normal person and all I want is a decent job.
'There's definitely a stigma attached which there should not be. I do think it's a form of discrimination.
'It's not down to the skills I have and in every interview they have not given me a good reason. Now I feel like I've got 'do not hire me' written all over my neck.
'I do not want to get it removed. It means so much to me.
'I still do not regret it at all though. I'm proud of it because it means so much. What is regret is how other people are perceiving it. '
'Pre-judged': Joe Parsons says his great neck tattoo has discontinued the challenges he has faced found one He went under the needle in November last year while working for McVities in Stockport.
He has since been on TV show Body Fixers and has posted on Facebook asking: 'Anyone know of any jobs going?'
Today he revealed on ITV's this morning that he went on a good university and thinks he is a 'good candidate' for the jobs he has applied for.
He asked: He asked: 'I want to get a job , that's what I've been taught to do. '
He was forced to leave his job in January.
She developed post traumatic stress disorder - a mental illness triggered by (19459003)
'I had to look after her pretty much full time which was why I left my job after Christmas.
'I needed to be at home for her.'
Mr Parsons is pictured right with a friend before he got the tattoo in memory of his grandfather He started looking for a new job straight away, but claims to have been rejected from 30 job applications at places including Topshop, Next and even TK Maxx - where he has worked before.
He said nobody has explicitly mentioned his tattoo specifically but added: 'As soon as I sit down they
look in the eyes and then I see their gaze drop down to my neck where they stay for a seconds.
'Then they look up and go on with the interview
' (19459003)
The 21-year-old has three other non-visible tattoos including roman numerals on his neck and a diamond on his forearm.
He is supporting his mother financially and says the situation has got desperate in the run-up to the festive period.
He said: 'I have been going to more interviews in the past three months as it's coming up to Christmas and my savings are running out.'
This Morning viewers were not very moved by his interview, and many said it was his fault for getting such a large and visible tattoo.
One said the ink is proof he has 'dodgy decision making skills' which will be unattractive to employers.
