Marnie Jones gave in to her children Kane and Ellie when they begged to have the patterns painted on to their skin as the family enjoyed a fortnight's holiday in Lloret on Spain's Costa Brava.

But the 38-year-old's fears it could go wrong came true when Kane's dragon design on his right upper arm started to blister.

There are fears the damage, believed to be caused by an allergic reaction to the dye, could leave him with a permanent scar.

Although he is not in pain, it is itchy and Kane has to apply an antibiotic steroid cream twice a day to help it heal.

His mother's appeal comes after Sunderland mum Julie Monarch warned other parents to be careful when letting their children get temporary tattoos when abroad.

Her son Clark, 10, was in left with agonising burns and blisters after he had a Sunderland AFC henna tattooed on to his back when they were in Greece.

Mrs Jones, who works at Easington Community School as a teaching assistant, said: "I was very concerned because I had seen stories in the paper and read about it before and I thought 'They're not having one'.

"I didn't want to give in to them.

"It was a street artist near the hotel and we'd seen lots of other children with them and passed a shop, so I thought it must be okay.

"Kane had a dragon and Ellie had a unicorn on her back.
"Both faded pretty quickly and they were supposed to last 15 days.

"Kane's was practically gone and then 13 days after it flared up.
"It's red and raised. Obviously he's a bit worried about and thinking, 'Is this permanent?'.

"From what I've read on the Internet it could mean that he's allergic to the dye for the rest of his life."

Marnie, who was also on holiday with husband Billy, 38, who works at Nissan, added that the dye used on their youngsters was black, rather than brown like most henna.