Two Robin Williams fans have paid their own tributes to the actor by spending hundreds of pounds getting huge tattoos of him on their thighs.

Hayley Patterson, 23, and Melanie Plews-Smith, 39, both opted to have Williams's face etched onto the same part of their bodies on Wednesday, the day after he died.

Miss Patterson, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, chose an image of the entertainer in character - as Peter Pan in the film Hook - while Mrs Plews-Smith, from Catterick, North Yorkshire had an image drawn on as the star of Flubber.

Scroll down for video



Tribute: Hayley Patterson, 23, has long planned to have Robin Williams's face tattooed onto her thigh, and made the decision the day after he died

Close-up: The image shows Williams in character, as Peter Pan in the 1991 film Hook

Second tribute: On the same day, Melanie Plews-Smith, 39, was offered a Robin Williams tattoo in Yorkshire

Design: The image chosen for this one was Williams from the poster for the film Flubber

Both women paid £250 for their tattoos, though Miss Patterson's is coloured whereas Mrs Plews-Smith's is monotone.

Miss Patterson said she has always wanted a tattoo of the star, and had hoped to tweet the image to him. News of his suicide on Tuesday prompted her to go ahead with the plan.

She said: 'Robin Williams has been a hero of mine since I was a baby and the very first film I saw was Hook. It's still my firm favourite.

'I was going to get the tattoo done and keep posting an image of it online and basically harrass him until he saw it!

'Unfortunately that never got a chance to happen so when I heard he had died I knew I had to get it done now. It will be a permanent memorial to him.'

Likeness: Mrs Plews-Smith, a mother of five, says she has passed her love on Williams (left in that tattoo and right in the poster for Flubber) to her offspring

Inspiration: Miss Patterson said she would watch Robin Williams films repeatedly as a child. He is pictured left on her thigh and right in a poster for the film Hook

Miss Patterson's tattoo was drawn as The Ink Doctors Tattoo studio in Southsea, Hampshire, and shows him in The tattoo depicts him in his role as the character of Peter Pan from the 1991 film Hook.

Hayley said: 'It cost £250 and is about eight inches - so it did take a few hours.

'I will admit, it did start to hurt in the last 20 minutes or so - but it was worth it for Robin.

Mr Williams, 63, was found dead in his home in northern California on Monday morning. A preliminary coroner's report found that the actor's death was attributed to asphyxia caused by hanging.

Miss Patterson said: 'I woke up really early the day the news broke and it was devastating.

Fan: Miss Patterson had hoped to show Williams her tattoo via Twitter - but the actor died too soon

'Luckily I had the day off that day - I was in bits and ended up watching six of his films back to back starting with Hook. It's still my firm favourite.

'When I was little I used to watch it religiously so that once I'd finished it, I'd just rewind the tape and watch it from the beginning again!

'To me, this tattoo captures that magic and [tattoo artist] Wesley's captured Robin's characteristics so well - especially his eyes.

'It's hard to imagine that light in those eyes has gone out but now I've got this tattoo, I'll always be able to see that light.'

Death: Robin Williams, 63, was found dead in his California home this week. He is pictured above with his wife Susan Schneider

On the same day, Mrs Plews-Smith, a mother of five, was offered the tattoo by local artist Stuart 'Biffa' Sutherland, who thought she would be interested.

She said: 'The news of Robin Williams' death was such a shock.

'I have had a couple of tattoos by Biffa done before and trust him completely, so it was an easy decision when they asked if I was interested.

'I have grown up with Robin Williams films and my children now love them as well.