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A TEEN dad with "DEVAST8" tattooed across half his face has turned down 45 job offers as he is "waiting for the right one to come along" - after his desperate work plea went viral.

New Zealander Mark Cropp, 19, went on social media to beg someone to give him a break and let him prove he can be responsible and hold down a full-time job after leaving prison.

 Mark Cropp got his terrifying tattoo while he was in prison
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Mark Cropp got his terrifying tattoo while he was in prisonCredit: Facebook
 Fresh-faced Mark with his girlfriend Taneia Ruki before his ink
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Fresh-faced Mark with his girlfriend Taneia Ruki before his inkCredit: Caters News Agency

Within hours he revealed he had been deluged with job opportunities and admitted he "stopped counting" when the number of offers reached 45.

But he told the  he still hasn't "done a day's work" claiming he is "just waiting for the right one to come about".

Some of the job offers did require him to have his own transport which immediately ruled him out, he said.

"Until I get my first paycheck and get a car I won't be able to get myself around," he said.

Cropp also revealed he is finally getting rid of the ludicrous prison tattoo which has made his life hell.

"I am just working out a date to get it taken off - which sucks because it is going to hurt," he said.

 The teenage dad is finally getting rid of his prison ink
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The teenage dad is finally getting rid of his prison inkCredit: Facebook
 The teenager has struggled to find work and blames the tattoo
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The teenager has struggled to find work and blames the tattooCredit: Facebook

"And because, you know, this tattoo means something to me and my brother did it for me so it is hard to make the decision to get rid of it.

"But I know it is the best thing for my future - and I want to be a person my family can look to for support."

Cropp got the tattoo a few months ago while drunk on home brewed alcohol with his brother in a New  Zealand prison last year.

He was locked up for pulling a knife on a tourist after trying to sell him fake cannabis.

But after he finished his two-year sentence for armed robbery, Mark told how the tattoo had impacted his job prospects.

He took to Facebook looking for work, writing on an Auckland-based jobs page: "Hey im keen as to work but have one thing that is stoping me and thats my tattoo on my face [sic],"

"Keen as on job or work place that will take me on [sic]."

A dejected Mark told the nobody would give him a chance because of the colossal inking - which is his nickname.

He said: "One employment place said to me 'I wouldn't employ you with that on you face, I wouldn't even take a second look at you.'"

But the tattoo was received more positively on Facebook, where users commended Mark for getting his name out there - with some offering make-up tips for covering up the tattoo and others even putting him in touch with potential employers.


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