Dozens of parents who have experienced baby loss have received a free baby footprint tattoo in a touching initiative by a town tattoo parlour.

There was quite the queue outside the Lucky 13 Tattoo Studio on St Margaret's Street, which was offering the free tattoo in aid of baby loss awareness on Monday between 8am and 8pm.

Paul Stansby and Jamie Hart, the studio's owners, said they wanted to host the event to help people who lost their babies heal and “push for tomorrow”. 

Ipswich Star: Lucky 13 owners Jamie Hart and Paul Stansby.Lucky 13 owners Jamie Hart and Paul Stansby. (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Ipswich Star: Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss.Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss. (Image: Charlotte Bond)

The team was "overwhelmed" by the uptake, including meeting one parent who visited the studio prior to their baby's funeral later on Monday. 

Also in the queue was Samuel Powell, 25, who works at Buzz Bingo in Ipswich and his partner Chloe Skinner, 29.

Ipswich Star: Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss.Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

Chloe said: “We lost our little girl in June last year so it’s nice this tattoo shop is doing this to raise awareness.

“It was difficult but we have each other. It’s never going to be easy. But it gets easier over time.”

Sam said: “It’s sort of unexplainable really. It’s something you can never imagine happening to yourself. People go through it and you think 'that’ll never be me' and then it just happens as quickly as anything.

“This has created a union and we can all sort of go through it together. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this happen and it’s not just good for us it’s good for the whole town. You don’t realise how many people it happens to until it happens to you.”

Ipswich Star: The queue grew quite large over the course of Monday morning outside Lucky 13 tattoo.The queue grew quite large over the course of Monday morning outside Lucky 13 tattoo. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

Another parent dealing with loss, Hannah Balderstone, who works at the Cricketers Pub. 

She said: “There are so many people that have lost their babies and this is a great opportunity. I’ll always remember it. I lost my baby in lockdown. It’s hard to deal with. You remember it every day, that one that you lost.”

Ipswich Star: Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss.Staff at Lucky 13 tattoo studio wanted to offer the free tattoo to help those that had experienced baby loss. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

Ipswich Star: Each person received a message after their tattoo.Each person received a message after their tattoo. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

Paul Stansby, one of the founders of Lucky 13 Tattoo Studio, said 35 people had already been given the tattoo just two hours after opening. 

Ipswich Star: The queue grew quite large over the course of Monday morning outside Lucky 13 tattoo.The queue grew quite large over the course of Monday morning outside Lucky 13 tattoo. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

He added: “Nearly all of us in this shop have suffered baby loss. This year was hard for all of us because we’re all going through it, especially with Baby Loss Awareness Week.

“A customer that came in earlier was going off to the funeral of their baby today. So it was quite important to them that they come down on the day of the funeral to get tattooed. It’s quite overwhelming really.”