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A man who has been open about injecting himself every day with an illegal drug to achieve the perfect tan claims that is why he has been refused a mortgage.

Karl Dinis has been featured in the media talking about his daily injections of a drug that stimulates the production of the tanning pigment melanin.

The 37-year-old from Cardiff has recently been trying to get on the housing ladder and, having found the house he wanted, was waiting to have his mortgage approved.

In the process, he sold his car and one of his horses to improve his finances.

However, he claims the mortgage has now been declined because the mortgage lender has "googled him" and said he doesn't "fit the criteria".

Mr Dinis - who has been using tanning injections for 10 years but claims they are not having a negative effect on his health - added: "Yesterday afternoon, my mortgage broker rang me.

"She said to me 'they have declined the application because they googled you'.

"Because I am a public figure and because of the tanning injections, they have declined my application.

"They say I do not fit the criteria."

(Image: WalesOnline)

(Image: WalesOnline)

He claimed Kensington Mortgages wouldn't give a definitive answer as to why he didn't fit its criteria.

In a statement, Kensington said: “Due to client confidentiality and data protection legislation, we are unable to share any information in relation to the application.

"We would never reject an application on the basis of a Google search, we factor in a number of components that determine an individual’s eligibility.”

Mr Dinis - who works for Cardiff Council as well as being the owner of his own horse transport company - said Kensington could see the large transactions on his bank statements as he spends up to £300 every month on the drug.

"We didn't tell them about the injections because we didn't have to as far as we were aware - primarily it's fake tan," he said.

"I am absolutely fuming - I thought I was going to be moving in the house in the next month.

"Everything was in place for me to move in, I was just waiting to sign the paperwork."

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Mr Dinis, of Llanishen , Cardiff , was hoping to buy a three-bedroom house in Machen for £80,000 and said the last two years he had been sorting his credit history and paying his debts off so that he could buy a house.

He had an Audi TT, which he loved, Mr Dinis added, but was paying a lot of money for so he sold it to be able to borrow more money.

(Image: WalesOnline)

"The main reason I got rid of the Audi was to buy this house," Mr Dinis continued. "I had three horses and I sold one, Duke, for £3,000 to go towards my desposit.

"I am furious.

"I have got rid of things to accommodate for this house and mortgage and now at the last minute they tell me they are not giving me a mortgage.

"It is terrible - I am still in the same position but without some things that meant a lot to me."

Melanotan injections , also referred to as a tan injections, are illegal in the UK and are unlicensed because they have not been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness.