FORGET tattoos or piercings. The latest trend for body decoration enthusiasts is to have their skin branded in the style of a Texan prize steer.

Red-hot metal brands or cauterising pens, which burn at more than 1,000C, are used to sear a design permanently into the flesh.

Historically, slaves and dangerous criminals were branded and it is still used as a form of torture in Iraq.

In Britain, the hot branding of livestock is outlawed by animal welfare legislation - but there are no rules to stop humans voluntarily having their skin burnt as a fashion statement.

The procedure, which costs about £70, is painful and can be dangerous because of the risk of nerve damage and infection.

Graham Martin, president of the Tattoo and Piercing Industry association, who offers branding at his Holier Than Thou studio in Manchester, said it was becoming popular with professionals and that he had branded teachers, nurses and a policeman. He claimed that the number of people asking him for the procedure has risen from just one a year in 2002 to more than one a week.

“We have had people as young as 16 ask for a branding. We have turned them away because we would not tattoo anyone under the age of 18. But there is no legislation banning this,” he added.

Dave Wiper of the Modern Savage tattoo studio in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, branded himself 10 years ago and has seen a steep increase in the number of people with the scar patterns in the past three years. He has branded a Muslim man who wanted a tattoo but cannot introduce ink to the body because of his religion.

Many of those who have their skin branded choose to film the experience and post it on YouTube, the video website.

Paul Doling, a 29-year-old insurance clerk from Eastbourne, East Sussex, had eight circles in two lines burnt onto his forearm, which took an hour to complete. “The adrenaline rush masks the pain,” he said.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said the practice of branding had not been made illegal and compared it with contact sports such as boxing, where deliberate injury was allowed by the courts.

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