TATTOOED from head to toe and weighing 20 stones, Earl Kauffman knows more than most about prejudice.

For the past eight years, he has been touring schools in his native US and the UK as Scary Guy, preaching a message of tolerance and anti-bullying to young people.

This week, he visited Lord Lawson of Beamish School, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, at the start of a North-East tour.

He said: "The kids were really responsive and they heard the message."

The former tattoo artist launched a one-man campaign against intolerance after he read a full-page advertisement in a newspaper in Arizona, branding people such as him as "scary guys with war paint and facial tattoos".

The 50-year-old said: "At first, I felt like finding the guy and getting revenge -do something like run over his dog in my Lincoln.

"Then I realised that I had been running my mouth off for 43 years and probably left a trail of devastation behind me.

"I went home and told my wife I was packing my bags to travel the world and help people change the way they live their lives."

Fortunately his wife Julie, a harpist, packed her bags as well and has accompanied her husband as his manager.

They have spent eight years visiting schools, and Scary Guy has talked to thousands of children.

This was his fifth UK trip and his second tour of the region, but the first time he has visited Lord Lawson of Beamish School.

Teacher Rosemary Endacott said: "The response from the kids was phenomenal."

Scary Guy also visited schools in the Gateshead and Newcastle areas, and is planning to return to the region next year. Schools wanting to book him to appear can go to www. scaryguy.com