THE cheek of it. Basingstoke Samaritans volunteer Dev went for the bottom line as part of the charity's awareness and fundraising week - he had his bum tattooed!

Dev, who cannot reveal his surname or address, said: "I'm heavily into my tattoos, and I thought this was a bit different."

He added: "All branches of the Samaritans are self-financing, and I wanted to do my bit for the Basingstoke branch."

Dev, a Samaritans volunteer for two-and-a-half years, was sponsored for the tattoo - a picture of two eyes - and had it done at Silly Wizard Tattoos, in Oakley, ahead of Samaritans Week, which began on May 17.

A survey by MORI, to mark the week, showed Britain is smoking, drinking and slobbing out to cope with high daily stress levels.

Chief executive of the Samaritans, Simon Armson, said: "We would urge people to try to deal with stress as positively as they can, rather than ignoring it or turning to alcohol or smoking.

"If feelings are bottled-up or ignored, they can lead to severe emotional distress.

"Not just during Samaritans Week but every week, we are here 24-hours-a-day for everyone, everywhere."

The research discovered the biggest causes of stress were jobs, money, family and health.

A third of Britons watch TV or listen to music to evade their problems, while nearly a quarter (23 per cent) has an alcoholic drink, nearly one in five (18 per cent) has a cigarette, and 15 per cent adopt a British stiff upper lip, ignore their stress and get on with it.