AN ORGANISER of a major tattoo convention overcame her fear of needles to help raise money for three worthwhile causes.

Susan Troughton, 42, conquered her phobia to have a red rose tattooed on her shoulder during the event at the Astoria Ballroom, Rawtenstall.

Susan, of Goodshaw Avenue, Loveclough, admitted she did not even like tattoos and was absolutely terrified of "going under the needle" but she gritted her teeth and raised sponsorship cash at the same time.

Her sponsored tattoo was just part of the day-long convention which attracted visitors from all over the country. Money raised during yesterday's event will be split between the MacMillan Cancer Relief Fund, Rossendale Hospice and CROPS, the Campaign for Restoration of Older Peoples' Services. It also featured tattoo stalls, body piercing, live music from Littleborough rockers Black Fiend and a tattooing competition.

The convention was the first major event organised by the Phoenix Foundation, a fund-raising group set up by Susan and her friends Janet O'Driscoll and Alwyn Sandiford.

Janet explained: "The event came about when we went to the Rossendale Valley Motorbike show and there were tattooists there who said the area was ideal for a convention. There's nothing like this in the North West."

"We made it a family event to show that people with tattoos are just like everyone else except they have works of art on their bodies.

"These events are few and far between, particularly as we were just concentrating on tattooing, and we've had people from all over the country here. We had a group of 15 come down from Scotland to be here and there has been enough interest to warrant a show like this in its own right.

"We will be taking a step back to see how the show went and how we can improve on things next time. We're always open to new ideas for fund-raising."

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