Even the most depraved fetish fan needs an occasional break from prolonged bouts of S&M.

But anyone fearing a sustaining bowl of Cornflakes or a nice hot cup of tea might damage their reputation need worry no longer.

A cult artist specialising in "rockabilly voodoo" has teamed up with a Brighton body jewellery shop to produce crockery designed for sadomasochism devotees.

The mugs and bowls on offer at The Wildcat Connection in Gardner Street are covered in images of scantily-clad women, skulls and voodoo symbols and labels such as Master and Slave.

They have been designed by Vince Ray, whose books and artwork show off his love of horror, hot rods, sex, motorbikes and Fifties rock 'n' roll.

He paid a visit to the shop on Saturday to sign copies of his new book, The Weird And Twisted Tale Of Vince Ray.

He has previously produced artwork for albums by punk band The Damned before teaming up with Wildcat, which sells body jewellery and adult toys.

His mugs are decorated in S&M imagery, including whips and stilettos.

Similar designs adorn the ashtrays and bowls he has designed for the store to sell, while the new Vince Ray collection also offers T-shirts, posters and shot glasses.

His physical appearance is notable for his rockabilly-style quiff - he plays in a band called The Razorbacks - his skull necklace, heavy make-up and black top hat.

But friends insist Vince is very different to the fearsome, aggressive image projected by his works, which have titles such as Tales Of Strange Teenage Lust, Men Are From Earth, Women Are From Hell and Tales Of True Necromance.

Wildcat shop assistant Mark Bowen said: "He's one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.

"We've worked with him a lot, especially at conventions where we give him space to sign his books and a lot of people don't realise who he is.

"They ask 'Where's Vince Ray, then?' And we say 'That's him sitting there, that quiet fellow with the quiff.'

"We're really pleased with the new stuff he's designed for us and they're already selling well.

"The Fifties horror style of cartoons is very big at the moment."

The Wildcat Collection opened its first shop in Preston Street, Brighton, 12 years ago but moved to the North Laine area three years ago and now distributes products across the world.

Mr Bowen said: "It suits us being here. The general atmosphere is more suited to our kind of clientele."

Staff at the shop do not carry out any piercings themselves but offer unusual jewellery such as exotic tusks, spikes, screws, balls and fish-head claws for most parts of the body.

The store also offers jewellery made from mammoth ivory, extracted from a wasteland deep inside the Arctic Circle in Siberia.

Staff base their claims of authenticity on the Russian Academy of Science, which estimates more than 500,000 tonnes of tusks are buried along a 1,000km stretch of Arctic coast.

Mr Bowen said: "Body piercing has become a massive industry now. It seems rare to find someone who does not have some kind of piercing.

"And now it's more acceptable, people are going for much more interesting things, rather than a simple earring or stud."

For more information, log on to www.wildcat.co.uk