A COFFEE fanatic has shown his love for a national chain by getting a tattoo of his favourite drink.

Sam Cooper, 29, was sat in his car with his brother Jack when he decided what he wanted his first inking to be of - a takeaway Costa Coffee cup.

The tattoo represents his daily order, a soya Mocha with hazelnut and “loads of syrup” - which he picks up from the Costa shop on Leigh Broadway.

Sam said: “I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while. I was with my brother in the car, I looked at the Costa cup, looked at him and decided to just do it.”

Sam has spends around £3.50 a day on his ritual caffeine injection, and has done for the last four years.

He was unaware that the daily purchase totalled just over £5,000 over the years.

Sam said: “I did not realise how much it was costing me but I am still going to go just as regularly.”

The body art cost £160 - and his friends and family find it “hilarious.”

Sam said: “The reaction has been interesting so far. People who know me cannot believe it, but know I would do something like that. Some have said it was weird but I just thought why not?”

The cup is just the start for Sam - who in the future hopes to have two full sleeves on his arms to represent his other passions in life.

His first tattoo was done by Luke Edwards, 27, an artist at Exile Tattoo, in London Road, Leigh.

Speaking of the unusual request, Luke said: “When my apprentice first told me about the tattoo, I did not think it was a dumb idea but I wanted to make sure Sam knew what he was getting. I thought I cannot jump straight into it and I had to make sure he was alright with it.”

The piece on the inside of Sam’s right arm is a very realistic impression of the famous claret fleeced cup you see in the hands of commuters every day.

Luke added: “Sam was over the moon with the tattoo and it was actually really fun for me too. He is already talking about coming back.”

Although the piece was not one of his most serious creations, Luke was proud to have been a part of it.

He said: “Some people portray tattooing in a bad way. As much as this is a little silly, I am glad I did it rather than it being done at a bad parlour.”

Sam hopes the tattoo will pay dividends in future for him promoting the Costa brand.

He said: “I am hoping to get something from Costa, maybe a free drink or two every once in a while or something, that would be great.”