EXCLUSIVE by Alex Claridge

Devil man Diablo Delenfer has spoken of his torment after he was vilified in the national media for altering his appearance.

The 41-year-old body modification artist from Seasalter first appeared in the Whitstable Gazette two years ago when he was exposed as a benefit cheat.

But his bizarre looks and body art soon earned him masses of attention from newspapers and magazines across the country.

Diablo – who comes from Sittingbourne originally and was born Gavin Paslow – says much of the coverage was hugely unfair to him.

“There was an awful lot of media attention which was undeserved and I was made to look like an idiot,” said Diablo, who lives in Cordingham Close.

“I felt I was misrepresented and that caused me and my family a lot of distress.”

Diablo says the thing that most upset him was that some of news stories reported that he had committed benefit fraud of £3,500 to pay for his body modifications.

The reality is that he suffered an industrial injury in 2005 while he was working at a furniture delivery company.

He received £33,000 in compensation and spent much of that on adorning himself with his devilish body art rather than the benefits he received.

The father-of-two has numerous tattoos, some dating back 20 years.

His name, meanwhile, officially became Diablo Delenfer – which translates as the devil from the inferno – on October 31, 2008.

It was following his 2009 court appearance and subsequent conviction for claiming more than £3,500 in benefits he was not entitled to because he was still working that Diablo came to the attention of the Gazette (pictured right at the time with reporter Alex Claridge).

Read more about the new changes Diablo has made to his appearance in this week's Whitstable Gazette.