MANCHESTER: Since the terror attack, Manchester`s tattoo parlours have been swarmed by requests for tattoos of bees a symbol of the city and its residents` deep community spirit.

To beat the crowds, Naomi Johnson arrived early on Friday at a parlour called Tattitude, after its owners said they would donate proceeds to a fund set up to help people affected by Monday`s suicide bombing.

`I just felt I wanted to do something to signify how we are all feeling,` said the 32-year-old neurologist, her left leg lifted on a stool as tattoo artist Jordon wielded the ink needle.

`No city is as good as Manchester,` said Johnson, who wore a summer dress, pink lipstick and sunglasses perched on her forehead.

`The bee is a symbol of hard-working people but also of standing together.` Jordon, 28, etched the image onto her leg and then added on the words: `Stay strong our kid`a phrase as Manchester as they come, in a city built on hard work during the Industrial Revolution.

`I did 15 yesterday. There are already six people queueing and the morning`s not over yet!` the tattoo anist said. Jordon said he was working on his days off.

The worker bee was adopted as a motif for the city during the Industrial Revolution, during which Manchester rapidly expanded from a small town into a major city and a world centre of factory-based industry.

It symbolises the hard work of Mancunians as residents are called and the city being a hive of activity in the 19th century.

The bee also features on the city`s crest, ship HMS Manchester, Boddingtons beer, on the mosaic flooring in the Town Hall and on lamp-posts around the city.-AFP