A father is furious after a hairdresser pierced his eight-year-old son's ear without parental permission.

Mark Boyce's daughter Emily walked into Kismet Unisex Hair Design in Station Road, Portslade, with her brother Joe and asked for earrings for both of them.

Without asking for any evidence of parental consent, salon owner David Foulser believed the 11-year-old girl had permission yesterday morning and pierced Joe's left ear and both Emily's ears for a second time.

Mr Boyce, 38, head doorman at Brighton's Escape nightclub, said: "I was so angry I confronted the owner. All his point was, was that it was not against the law.

"I think it is definitely wrong and there should be strict laws against piercing a minor without permission."

Mr Boyce admitted his children, both pupils at St Martin's Primary School, Hartington Road, Brighton, were wrong to disobey him and their mother Kathleen. But he was adamant the salon should have made more effort to contact them.

Mr Foulser, who has owned Kismet for about five years, apologised to the family and blamed the mistake on a "misunderstanding".

He said: "Normally we ask for a note from the parents but didn't on this occasion. We will definitely make sure we get written consent from the parents in the future."

As a result of this incident, Mr Fousler is considering changing the salon's rules to ban young children from getting piercings.

The issue of body piercing children made the headlines a few weeks ago when the actor behind The Bill hardman DI Burnside was angered his 13-year-old daughter was able to get her belly button pierced without his consent.

Hove-based Chris Ellison grounded his daughter Francesca for going against his wishes and called for laws to clamp down on piercing youngsters after she got a navel ring at The Green House Hair Group in Imperial Arcade, Brighton.

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "All ear-piercing businesses in the city must be registered with the council and undergo strict inspections.

"There are no specific laws preventing children from having their ears pierced. Most reputable businesses have their own rules and will not pierce children's ears without their parents' permission.

"We would urge all city businesses offering ear piercing to be vigilant."