VICTORIA Beckham went on stage at the weekend sporting the latest in a long line of "look at me" gimmicks.

She had, apparently, had her bottom lip pierced just before performing in front of a 30,000-strong crowd in Birmingham and admitted: "It hurt like hell".

"It was not a pleasant experience," said the Spice Girl. "I've just had it done a few minutes ago and it's really painful."

However, as Mrs Beckham is a role model for thousands of teenage girls (and younger) it is probably fair to say that her army of teeny followers will also put pain aside to adopt her latest look as they try to emulate their idol once again.

But how far will Posh Spice go in her quest for media attention? And is this latest stunt totally irresponsible in her position as an icon to many impressionable youngsters?

Hair extensions, belly button piercing and even hubby David's famous Mohican haircut were all copied but where will it all end?

Emma Dobson is 14 and from Daubhill. She sports a jewelled belly button pierce and has five piercings in each ear.

"But I wouldn't have my lip pierced," says the teenager, a pupil at St James' School in Farnworth. "I don't think it looks right somehow.

"I do want to get my tongue pierced but my mum and dad say I have to wait until I'm 16 for that."

Emma had her belly button pierced when she was just 13. "I asked my mum and dad and they both said 'no' at first but I kept asking them and pestering them until they relented.

"They're sticking to the 16 rule about my tongue though."

"I think it's up to the parents to set the rules on this kind of thing," says Emma's mum, Ann. "Youngsters are bound to be influence by people in the limelight, such as Victoria Beckham, and I think those people have a responsibility to their fans.

"Of course, Posh Spice is young and fashionable but I reckon having her lip pierced -- if that's what she has done -- is fairly irresponsible. It's just going that bit too far.

"There are some young girls out there who are bound to copy her and, because she is such a role model for them, she should act like one."

However, Posh may think she's at the cutting edge of fashion when it comes to body art but, according to one of Bolton's leading piercers, it is nothing new.

A spokesman for Stef's Custom Tattoo's and Body Piercing Studio on Newport Street said: "Lip piercing has been popular for some time and we do a fair amount here. As long as the studio is a reputable one, then there shouldn't be any problems.

"Sometimes, and it only happens very rarely, if the piercing is not performed correctly, it can cause the surrounding skin to become infected and cause facial scarring. But a reputable studio would do a proper job."

The spokesman said he could understand the worry of parents who have to deal with young girls wanting to follow in their idol's footsteps.

"There is no age limit on body piercing," he said. "But, once again, a proper place wouldn't do any piercing on a minor. I certainly wouldn't."

But could Mrs Beckham's new "rock chick look" be a sure fire way of plugging her new single, Not Such An Innocent Girl?

Bolton-based image consultant, Chris Barbour thinks so. Chris runs Colour Me Beautiful and says: "This seems to be just another example of Victoria Beckham courting media attention to promote her new single.

"As an image consultant I would recommend that girls and young women only have their ears pierced.

"Whether we like it or not, people base their opinion of someone on their appearance and not on what they say.

"Facial piercing gives out a message of being a rebel or an attention seeker."

Attention seeking apart, the medical aspect of lip piercing must also be addressed -- putting needles through ears is one thing but when it comes to the inside of the lip surely the risks of infection are much higher?

Nick Bowden is a dental surgeon with Firth and Bowden dental practice on Chorley Old Road. He says the key element of a pierced lip is to be extremely careful in ensuring that the area is clean.

"If the piercing is done by a reputable studio and the person who's had the piercing keeps the area meticulously clean, then there should not be a problem.

"However," he points out, "it must be said that the area inside the lip would most likely prove more difficult to really clean than say the ear lobes so that's when a problem could occur.

"But oral cleanliness and hygiene is very important and even more so when the lip or tongue is pierced."