Offbeat News: A man with more than 100 tattoos has inked his eyeballs

Ted Richards, known locally as the ‘parrot man’, has a whopping 110 tattoos, 30 piercings and seven implants over his body.

The 56-year-old has done everything possible to transform his image, including splitting his tongue in half and having five transdermal implants - objects being placed beneath the skin.

He has three beads down his forehead and two horns implanted, but in his latest feat, has inked his eyeballs.

Retired shoe factory worker Ted, from Hartcliffe, Bristol, said: “With the eyes they have to put a needle in five or six times to each and you feel that, but after it’s in, it’s fine.

“Obviously they have to be very careful because it’s your eye - and the tongue is uncomfortable for a while, too.”

The operation, which cost “a lot of money” lasted less than an hour to do.

Ted’s eyes closed shut like a boxer’s after the procedure, but the swelling reduced after a few days leaving him with multi-coloured sclera - normally the white part of the eye.

Having received his first tattoo in 1976, he now has an array of different pictures, including two parrots on his face that are a tribute to his “babies”.

Ted ‘wears’ his five pet parrots, including Ellie, a green winged macaw, and Teaka, a harlequin macaw, an iguana and a pitbull, as tattoo tributes.

Still not content with his look, Ted is now saving up for scarification - branding designs into the body - and for reptile implants under his eyebrows.

Ted added: “There’s no doubt that when they made me they broke the mould. But seriously, I love the fact that I’m unique and I have always wanted to be different.

“I love body modification and the more the better. It’s oxygen to me. If I had it my way I would go and have something new every week.”

Ted claims that - despite having a peace sign branded into his left shoulder, 50 piercings in his face and ears, and two magnets in his hands, people are positive about his appearance.

He said: “After the last article about me in the paper I have had almost 3,000 friend requests on Facebook and lots of nice comments.

“In fact the only time I get any criticism is when it comes from people who do body modification procedures - I think it’s just a cutthroat industry and they like to criticise each other’s work.”