A TANNING addict has warned others not to use dangerous injections to make his skin darker – after claiming they made him look like Madge from Benidorm.

Dylan Wright has been left with the freckled skin of a 60-year-old after using the £10 tanning jabs online.

The 28-year-old, from Colchester, Essex, was so desperate to be bronzed ahead of jetting off to Spain he tried to get ahead of the game.

He injected himself with two of the illegal jabs before he left for the airport, but was greeted by stares from other holidaymakers by the end of his trip.

Tanning jabs contain the lab-made hormone called melanotan II, which increases the melanin production in the skin and can cause an increase in moles and freckles.

Those who have used the injections have complained of hallucinations, nausea and terrible headaches.

Dylan posed for snaps with his best pal Jake Bolton, 29, on the holiday but he was horrified at how dark his arms and face had gone.

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Other pictures show Dylan posed on his balcony and sat with a cocktail, sporting dramatically contrasting bleach blonde hair and a white shirt he says made him look like “a pint of Guinness”.

He was horrified after his bronzing blunder left him with dry skin and permanent freckles – sparking a cancer scare.

Dylan posted a light-hearted video on TikTok sharing the images from his 2014 holiday to warn others who might use the illegal jabs.

The customer service worker admits he spent nine hours per day in the sun and should have only injected one rather than two jabs, but says he was young and “felt invincible” at the time.

Dylan said: "The doctors called me an idiot and told me it's a side effect from the drug, but now I'm stuck with them. I've got loads of freckles all over my arms and my face.

"I've got freckles like I'm in my 50s or 60s. It feels like my skin's aged. I've still got the marks to show for it and it can have long-lasting effects.

"I remember saying to Jake on the third or fourth day [of the holiday], 'I'm going really, really dark', then I started getting lots of freckles on my arms and face that I'd never had before.

"I didn't think too much of it. I hadn't forgotten about the injections but I thought they probably wouldn't work because I got them online.

'REALLY AGED ME'

"It got to last night and I remember getting ready and walking down the street. People were really staring, so I asked what was wrong and Jake told me, 'Dylan, you are black'.

"Because I have white features, I guess, it looked really odd. I looked like a pint of Guinness because I had this white top and white hair and I think that makes it funnier.

"After I saw the photo I thought 'oh my god, this is not cool'. I was more concerned about looking like Madge from Benidorm. I felt it really aged me and I didn't look great.

"Because the injections make tanning more efficient, being in the sun for nine hours a day is like being in the sun for a week every day and that was the problem.

"I think you're only supposed to inject one of them, but I was scared of taking syringes through security, so I wanted to take two so they'd last the holiday.

"I bought them before to make the most of the sun. I went on the sunbeds a bit before the holiday but didn't take the injections until just before I left. I was too scared to take them away.

"No matter how hungover we were, we were out at the beach by 9am until 6pm.

"We didn't want to miss any sun while we were there because we weren't there for very long.

"I looked like I had a skin condition or something. I was single so luckily it didn't impact the way men were with me because I had a good holiday in that sense, so that wasn't an issue.

"Looking back I laugh and my friends always ask me to show new friends because they always can't believe it."

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has previously issued a warning against using the lethal injections.

After jetting back to the UK his parents couldn't understand why he was so dark-skinned because he refused to tell them what he'd done, fearing their reaction.

Dylan doesn't remember the name of the website he ordered the injections from and is horrified that he bought and use them because they were recommended by a pal.

He added: "I definitely learned my lesson, but in the comments to the video people are asking where do you get these and how can I do them.

"Anyone thinking of buying them, you should do your research because there's loads of articles on how dangerous they are.

"It's really not worth it. There's safer ways to tan, like fake tanning.

"I've not been on a sunbed since. It gave me a wake-up call. As you get older I've changed my habits. It's a classic case of being 20 and thinking you're invincible."

‘DANGEROUS’ JABS

Medics say jabs of Melanotan and Melanotan 2 should not be advertised and could cause significant health problems.

Many websites offering the drug give NO WARNINGS of its serious dangers — with some claiming it has positive effects, including weight loss.

Using non-sterile water to prepare the injections can cause serious blood infections, and sharing needles spreads blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.

Injections by untrained individuals can cause skin and tissue damage, and might result in permanent or life-threatening injury.

The possible side effects include:

• Kidney failure
• Brain swelling
• Abcesses
• Headaches
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Burning skin
• Hallucinations
• Sexual dysfunction

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