Canadian father spends 30 hours getting a tattoo to match his son's birthmark after the eight-year-old began feeling self-conscious

A Canadian father has delighted his son by getting a tattoo to match his eight-year-old's birthmark, spending 30 hours under the needle in the process.

Derek Prue Sr, from Stony Plain, Alberta, noticed that his son Derek Jr was refusing to take his t-shirt off in the swimming pool.

Derek Jr was born with a large birthmark on his chest.

'He was always proud of his birthmark and then I saw he started to kind of cover it up,' Prue told SooToday.com.

'I think he was maybe a little bit self conscious about it. I was wanted to get the same thing so he wouldn't be the only one.'

Derek Prue Sr decided to get a tattoo to match his eight-year-old son's birthmark

Prue Sr spent 30 hours, over nine sessions, getting tattooed on his chest and ribs

Prue Sr went to Juicy Quill Tattoo as a secret, for the first of what would end up being nine sessions.

'I thought it was going to be a one session kind of thing. But three hours turned into about 30 hours. So it's been a bit of a process,' he told the site.

'The first sitting, I think, was close to four hours. And I didn't really look to see what was going on.

'So I thought at the end of four hours it was done. So I said, 'Is it almost done?' and he said, 'I'm almost done the outline.''

Prue Sr had to be given a numbing treatment multiple times to help with the pain, owing to the size and position of the tattoo.

Because of the size and positioning of the tattoo birthmark, Derek Sr. had to be frozen multiple times to help with the pain.

'That area of the body, the ribs, the pec area, just very sensitive nerve endings,' said Tony Gibert, the tattoo artist who worked on Prue Sr.

Prue Sr needed to have the tattoo area numbed to cope with the pain on his chest

His son was unaware what his father was doing until they went to a swimming pool together.

'I just kind of took my shirt off. He was wearing his shirt. I showed him that I had the exact same mark as him,' said Prue Sr.

In a family video, Derek Jr can be heard saying: 'That's cool!'

He then took off his shirt and played in the pool without it on - exactly what his dad was hoping for.

'They don't make fun of it, but they ask me sometimes,' the young boy explained.

'I say it's just a big brown mark that came with me when I was a little boy.'

On December 9 father and son went to Juicy Quill Tattoo together, so Gibert could compare his work.

'This is something that really affected his everyday life, giving him more confidence, letting him know he wasn't the only person with this big mark. Now it's forever,' Gilbert said.

On Facebook, the tattoo studio wrote: 'Very cool that he could do this to help his sons confidence and that we could be a part of their story.'

Derek Jr's mother, Hope Marie, thanked the tattoo studio for their work.

'Just wanted to say thank you for all you have done and your part in making this so special for my son,' she wrote. 

'You will forever be a part of our lives! His painting you gave him is already up in his room! Merry Christmas to you and your family! Again with the most sincere gratitude THANK YOU.' 

Prue Sr added: 'It's really cool to see him smile.'