A HOMER Simpson fanatic has had an astonishing 53 outlines of the popular cartoon character tattooed on his right arm in the hope of securing a Guinness World Record.

Little Chef manager Ricky Viner endured two painstaking seven-hour sessions at River City Tattoo Collective in Bath to adorn his left arm with everyone’s favourite donut-loving idiot.

The 32-year-old, of Brook Street, Warminster, hopes his dedication to Matt Groening’s decade-spanning comic creation will earn him a place in this year’s coveted Guinness World Records annual.

“I was getting a tattoo of an Anime character done on my arm when a conversation about world records arose with my tattooist,” said Mr Viner, who is married with no children.

“We talked about the bloke who holds the current world record for the most cartoon characters tattooed on his body and that’s when we came up with the idea of having a crack at a new record.

“Some of the outlines really hurt – especially the ones on the crease where my bicep meets my forearm – it was remarkably painful.

“Ben from the tattoo parlour is an excellent artist and very quick, but it still took 14 painful hours to get the sleeve completed.”

Mr Viner became obsessed with The Simpsons – and Homer in particular – when he started watching it at the age of eight.

He added: “I instantly fell in love with the programme. I was adopted when I was a kid and looked up to my adoptive father as a Homer role model.

“My favourite episode has to be Homie the Clown, when Homer goes to Krusty’s clown college and becomes so obsessed with it to the point everyone he talks to becomes a clown – it’s brilliant.”

An Australian 52-year-old man named Michael Baxter holds the current Guinness World Record for the most tattoos of characters from a single animated series with 203 different Simpsons tattoos on his back, but Mr Viner is going for the record of most tattoos of a singular character.

To secure the record he must provide the organisation with various forms of proof including a report from a dermatologist or doctor to say that the tattoos are real.