People lined up in Worcester to get inked in support of a growing campaign against smart motorways, led by a local tattoo artist who nearly lost his life in a motorway accident.
Circle of Swords tattoo studio on Trinity Street hosted its third annual charity event, this time in support of the Smart Motorways Kill campaign. The cause is deeply personal for tattooist Jack Gallowtree, who suffered catastrophic injuries during a crash on the M6 in 2022.
Gallowtree was riding his motorbike when the engine failed. While trying to guide the vehicle to safety, he lost control. The bike veered into a barrier, launching him over it and causing severe injuries including a snapped leg, a dislocated shoulder, and a gaping wound.
“My foot slipped down and the weight of the bike leaning snapped my leg,” Gallowtree recalled. “The bike went into the barrier and luckily it threw me over—otherwise I don’t think I’d be here today.”
The accident led to a long and difficult recovery. Doctors nearly amputated both his leg and arm due to complications. “They took a skin flap from my arm to transplant the hole in my leg, otherwise it would have been amputated,” he explained. “There was a problem with the healing on my arm so I almost lost the arm as well—smart motorways almost cost me an arm and a leg, literally.”
Claire Mercer, founder of the Smart Motorways Kill campaign, attended the charity event hoping to get another tattoo in memory of her husband, who died on a smart motorway in 2019. Mercer, 49, already has a wrist tattoo that reads “truth be told,” the same words her husband had tattooed on his neck.
“Jack arranges this fundraiser every year to raise funds for the campaign. It pays our costs for the year. This event is a real lifesaver,” she said. “We’ve got one objective—and that is the return of the hard shoulder on all motorways.”
The event attracted supporters of all ages and became a family outing for some. Liza Ayling, 52, attended with her daughters and chose to get a sword tattoo. “It’s a really worthy cause,” she said. “My two daughters are here so it’s a family day out.”
Her daughter, Francesca Ayling, 33, used the occasion to mark a major turning point in her life with a tattoo of a skeleton hand doing a peace sign. “I’m getting divorced and the peace sign is my thing,” she said. “It’s a really good cause. I wanted to come last year but I couldn’t get round to it.”
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