'Leopard Man of Skye' dies at 80

A former soldier who was once the world's most tattooed man died in a care home at the age of 80.

Tom Leppard, born Tom Wooldridge, spent $7,761 on his art and lived in a small bothy in Skye, Scotland, for more than two decades, Daily Mail reported.

The pensioner - known as the "Leopard Man of Skye" -- swapped his hut on the banks of Loch na Beiste for a house in 2008 and later moved into a home in Inverness, where he died on Sunday.

Leppard said he had no regrets about his tattoos, which began as a way to make money.

"I thought if I get the biggest of something and live in a strange way people might pay me," the Leopard man added.

Despite his spots, he felt no affinity with leopards and called spiritual questions about his tattoos "rubbish".

When living in Skye, his home was a ruined shelter under a roof made from pieces of plastic sheeting.

He had no electricity, no furniture and had to canoe three miles for his weekly shopping.

--IANS

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