Chichester tattoo parlour gives up on windows after vandalism

Leah Elphick, who owns the Black Pearl Tattoo Parlour in Oving Road, Chichester, said a rock thrown at the window at the start of December followed similar damage to the shop front with a hammer six weeks before.

Nothing was stolen in either incident but she said it had made a real mess, with damage to the large front windows and, on one occasion, the front door.

She said: “We’ve boarded up the whole shop, we’re going to paint some custom artwork across the board.

“We could replace the glass but then how long will it be until it happens again?”

She added that she was mystified as to who would target the independent studio, which had had no similar issues since it opened in 2014.

Once painted, the shop front boards will be covered in perspex or a similar material to stop them being defaced.

Leah said the team would not let the vandalism stop them from doing their best for their clients and charity.

She said: “We’re going to be painting a ship on one side, some waves and a storm and on the other side a big kracken that’s going to reach across the shop.

“Windows are nice but it’s just a sticker, it’s not something we’ve designed. It’ll be nice to have our own artwork on there.”

Sussex Police confirmed smashed windows were reported at the tattoo studio on Wednesday, December 6, and also at around 4am on Wednesday, September 27.

Regarding the September incident, police would like to speak to a man described as 6ft 4in, of skinny build, wearing a black coat, a hooded top and black Nike trainers.

In the December incident, a rock ‘appeared to have been hurled at the window’, a police spokesman confirmed.

Witnesses can report online or call 101 quoting 524 of 27/9 or 416 of 06/12.