HOLIDAY-MAKERS are being warned against having a temporary black henna tattoo while abroad this summer.

It follows the inquest into the death of Cowling woman Julie McCabe, who suffered a severe anaphylactic shock and fell into a coma after using hair dye in 2011, before losing her fight for life a year later.

At the inquest, assistant coroner Geoff Fell heard evidence about the effects of para-phenylendiamene (PPD) in the hair dye and how it was likely she had been sensitised to it by having a black henna tattoo while holidaying in Dubai in 2007.

Jo Boutflower, head of business and consumer services at North Yorkshire Council, said: “Temporary tattoos seem like a fun idea to accessorise a holiday tan, but the problem is that people have no idea what chemicals are being painted onto their skin.

“An immediate allergic reaction can cause blistering and scarring but even more worryingly, sensitisation to PPD could lead to a severe, life-threatening reaction to PPD in hair dye years after the tattoo.

“It is for this reason that we’re urging people to act with extreme caution before having a temporary tattoo or allowing their children to have one."