Two women were turned away from a Malmö night club because of their ink. Club management defended the policy, saying that tattoos were "distasteful".

Jessica Brotherton and her female friend were denied entry to the Swing Inn night club last weekend. Both women sport several tattoos, including one on their upper arms of vines with flowers.

“They told us that they don’t let in women with visible tattoos. But if we put on a sweater it would be alright,” Brotherton told Kvällsposten newspaper.

The two women were surprised because they have frequented Swing Inn on other occasions over a period of several years without encountering problems.

Club manager Gabrielle Holst confirmed that her establishment has long had a policy against visible tattoos.

“We want to have a well-groomed clientele with neat clothing. We think that tattoos look distasteful,” she told Kvällsposten newspaper.

Holst added that their policy only applied to visible tattoos. “We obviously can’t ask patrons to take their clothes off,” she said.