Inside horrifying world of the Nullo castration cult whose followers use amateur 'cutters' or even vets to remove their private parts inspired by Japanese artist who sold his penis and testicles to eat for £800
Mao Sugiyama, who had his penis and testicles removed by a physician

It is a practice that, even when just described, leaves most people squirming in their chairs.  

The bizarre - and growing - Nullo movement sees mostly male subscribers cut off their own genitals and sometimes their nipples.

Many opt for a 'smoothie', a procedure that leaves them with a fully smooth groin, and more than half these people use amateur 'cutters' - often doctors or vets - or do it themselves

The most famous modern 'Nullo' is Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama, who had his penis and testicles surgically removed by a physician in March 2012 before charging diners. He has also had his nipples removed.

They had been certified free of infections and were frozen for two months before being served up at a banquet in Suginami, a residential area in western Tokyo.

After initially offering to cook his penis for a single guest for £800, he ended up charging five diners £160 each to eat the meal, which was garnished with mushrooms and parsley. Police went on to charge him with indecent exposure.

Yesterday, Romanian hotel worker Ion Ciucur admitted taking part in a castration by clamping as part of a plot where procedures were live streamed on a website called 'the Eunuch Makers'.

He admitted conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to two modifications when he appeared at the Old Bailey.

Nathaniel Arnold, 46, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, and Damien Brynes, 36, removed body parts from alleged ringleader Marius Gustavson and are due to be sentenced on January 12.

There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 voluntary 'Nullos' worldwide, though the true number is unknown.

Astonishingly, two thirds never tell anyone they have no genitalia, including their families, a 2014 academic study found.

The group are said to identify as 'Nullos' - shorthand for genital nullification — a sub-culture who meet through online forums.

Many of the 'cutters' - slang for those who carry out the procedure - are from a medical background. Those who have had their genitals removed also claim that vets are known to do it.

One man, named William, previously told the Daily Beast that he decided to spend the money to do it in a hospital.

He said: 'The risk of something going wrong is extremely high.

'I also don't wish to look like Frankenstein at the end of the procedure'.

A castrated vicar, named Benedict, said: 'It's nowhere near as weird and difficult to try to become a eunuch now as it was 30 years ago.

'Now, we have doctors who don't even blink when you say you want to just remove your testicles, or just add a vagina. I never saw this coming'.

Sugiyama, who goes by the nickname HC, said he had initially considered eating his own penis – but decided to serve them up instead.

He cooked the genitalia, which were removed in early April 2012 shortly after his 22nd birthday, himself while being supervised by a chef.

Sugiyama put on a traditional chef's outfit, before carefully seasoning and braising the genitals on a portable gas cartridge burner.

Guests were made to sign a waiver so he could not be held responsible if they became ill.

Sugiyama's initial post on Twitter read: 'I am offering my male genitals (full penis, testes, scrotum) as a meal for 100,000 yen (£800). I'm Japanese.

'The organs were surgically removed at age 22. I was tested to be free of venereal diseases. The organs were of normal function. I was not receiving female hormone treatment.

'First interested buyer will get them, or I will also consider selling to a group. Will prepare and cook as the buyer requests, at his chosen location.

'If you have questions, please contact me by DM or e-mail.'

In total around 70 people attended the event in the Suginami ward of Tokyo. While five people tucked into Mao Sugiyama's genitalia, the rest of them ate beef or crocodile.

It was reported that the five people who ate the unusual showpiece dish were a married couple, a Manga artist, a woman, 32, and an event planner, aged 22.