A UK detention centre inmate has been caught offering tattoos using a machine he rigged up from a Sony Playstation.

The detainee stripped down a console and attached its motor to a ballpoint pen with its tip sharpened to drive ink into the skin, The Sun reported today.

The home-made gizmo was seized along with a tattoo magazine from the detainee's room at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre near Gatwick, West Sussex.

Sources claim he charged other detainees to use it — but officials denied this.

A source said: "It was a truly bizarre piece of DIY, up there with some of the most extraordinary finds staff have made.

"When it was switched on it would move up and down like a real tattoo gun. But you would have to be daring to want a tattoo from a machine like that."

The Border and Immigration Agency said the device was seized during a routine check of rooms.

A spokesperson said: "No further action was taken, but staff have been made aware so they can be vigilant for anything similar."

The centre holds 426 men — many awaiting deportation after jail for crimes in the UK.

They are allowed PlayStation 1 and 2 consoles, but not the PlayStation 3 model because it can connect to the internet.

Guards in US jails have found tattoo guns made from Nintendo consoles.

See a picture of the home-made tattoo machine at The Sun »