NEW bylaws regarding the regulation of acupuncture, tattooing, piercing, electrolysis and skin colouring could soon come into force in the Malvern Hills.

The district's chiefs are considering the new regulations in accordance with recent guidelines issued by the Department of Health.

The move comes after the council agreed in June this year to extend the existing bylaws regulating such activi-ties to those parts of the district previously coming under the Leominster district.

The new regulations would cover areas such as the cleanliness of premises, instruments and equipment con-nected with the business of tattooing and other similar areas of skin-related trades.

The Secretary of State has informally indicated his approval of the draft regulations, which follow the model bylaws produced by the De-partment of Health.

Now councillors are being asked to approve the new bylaws, which will then be forwarded to the district's busi-nesses registered for this type of practice.

Any objection or comment on their content would then be addressed before they were forwarded to the Secretary of State for final confirmation.

Andrew Scott, manager of Scottatattoo in Malvern's Newtown Road - a tattoo and body piercing outlet - welcomed the move.

He said: "They come out and inspect the cleanliness of everything anyway and we've no problem with that.

"If they want to tighten things up, that's no problem as the cleaner it is, the better it is for everyone."

It is unclear as to whether the regulations are being considered by Worcester City Council, as staff at the author-ity's environmental health department were unavailable for comment as the Worcester News was due to go to press. However, the proposals were met by a more mixed response from Scott Baldwin, joint manager of The Tattoo Shop in Worcester's Lowesmoor. He said: "If the rules are drawn up by people in the trade then that's fine, but it just becomes silly when it involves people outside as it becomes too bureaucratic." The matter is due to be discussed by officials at a full meeting of Malvern Hills District Council on Tuesday, January 10, starting at 7pm.

The meeting is open to all members of the public and is scheduled to take place in the council's Priory Lodge Hall, Avenue Road, Malvern.