Why dad got boy's drawing of England football manager as tattoo

A father-of-two has kept a promise to get a tattoo of England football manager Gareth Southgate’s face drawn by a six-year-old after the boy’s school met its fundraising target.

Following the quarter-final World Cup match between England and Sweden, Jeff Holt, 36, joked on Twitter that he would get a tattoo of England’s manager if the team made it to the final.

When Flax Bourton Primary School got in touch and suggested he get one of their student’s drawings of the man inked instead, the dad could not back down.

A group of students were fundraising by selling sticker books made up of their own drawings of World Cup players and managers.

The students at the primary school were hoping to raise £2,000 (more than AUD$3,500) through the sale of their Panini World Cup sticker books, made up of their drawings.

The “Flaxini” Sticker Books are being auctioned on eBay to raise money for two bowel cancer charities – The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research and Bristol charity Above & Beyond.

So the dad, from Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness, vowed to get a boy’s drawing of England manager Gareth Southgate tattooed on his body if they reached their target.

With the campaign a success, Mr Holt kept his promise and had the drawing by six-year-old stranger Lenny inked on his right arm.

• Innovative treatment could save boy who was once given just months to live

• Woman caught on camera defecating outside liquor store

• Mum drank for four hours at pub before driving into crowd

• Disney dumps director over offensive tweets

“After the Sweden game, I’d had a few rums, and I said on Twitter that I’d get a tattoo of Gareth Southgate if England made it to the final,” Mr Holt said.

“Then a while later, after a few more rums, this school got in touch with me and said, ‘Hang on, why don’t you get a tattoo of our version?’ And that was that.”

Mt Holt made good on his promise last week, but said his family was initially not too pleased with his new ink.

He joked: “My eldest son, Oscar, isn’t too impressed and my wife, Gemma, wasn’t that keen initially but when I told her what it was for she allowed me to get it.”

Dad plans another tattoo for youngest son

Mr Holt is set to get another charity-inspired tattoo at the end of the month.

His youngest son, Jasper, was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease after he was born in April 2013, and the Holts are fervent supporters of the National Health Service.

“We spend a lot of time at Alder Hey [Children’s Hospital] because of Jasper so I’ve booked myself in to get their elephant mascot tattooed on me,” Mr Holt said.