Ashes to fishes: Widow has tattoo of koi carp drawn onto her leg using dead …

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 1:01 PM on 15th June 2011

A grieving widow has paid tribute to her late husband by tattooing herself with his ashes.

Sharon and Matt Britt had only been married for a few months and to mark their first anniversary she had the tattoo put onto her leg with the ashes mixed in with the ink.

The 46-year-old mother-of-two had a koi carp drawn onto her left thigh to represent her huband’s love of fishing.

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Mrs Britt said: ‘Some people think it’s strange but it’s my choice. I think Matt would’ve really liked it.

‘Part of the reason I did this is because we had so little time together as husband and wife.

‘When I look at the tattoo I think of his smile. I think he would be proud but he would also laugh, he had a great sense of humour.

‘He is always in my heart and with this tattoo I am as close to him as I can possibly be, he will always be part of me.

‘I think about him every day and I think this is a fitting tribute. I look forward to showing it off.’

The tattoo cost £300 and was designed by Richard Cubbin, from South Coast Ink in Eastleigh.

Sharon Britt had the tattoo drawn on her leg to mark the first anniversary of the couple’s wedding

Mr Cubbin, who has been a tattooist for 25 years, admitted it was a very unusual decision but entirely safe.

He said: ‘Very few people would choose something like this. The challenge is designing something that is a good tattoo and a fitting tribute – it is a very intimate experience.’

Matt, 36, was found in dead a stream on November 16 last year a day after he had discharged himself from Southampton general Hospital where he was due to undergo treatment for a fractured jaw that he sustained after a fall.

An inquest found he died from the combined effects of blood loss from the facial injuries, as well as hypothermia and acute pancreatitis.

After his cremation, Sharon kept his ashes in an urn on their bed, saying it helped her to stay close to her late husband.

Part of his ashes still remain on the couple’s bed – but Sharon has transferred them to a giraffe-shaped pyjama bag.

She said: ‘I keep his ashes on my bed because I want to be close to him.

‘I didn’t really like the urn so I looked for something I could cuddle and found the pyjama case. It was the perfect solution.’

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