Toned Geri makes a splash in St Tropez - and reveals her missing tattoo

The 34-year-old was having the time of her life as she whizzed about on a jet ski while enjoying a sun-soaked break in St Tropez.

That night, she hit the town to ring in her 35th birthday with dinner and dancing until after 4am.

While on the beach, there was one noticeable absence: the giant panther she had tattooed on her back too celebrate her decision to quit the Spice Girls almost a decade ago.

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A £300 animal stretching along the small of her back helped the British star reinvent herself as a solo singer.

But when the menacing black beast proved unable to provide real chart success, Miss Halliwell promptly got the offending creature removed.

Three years on, as Miss Halliwell splashed around St Tropez, it's clear that the memories of the 35-year-old's four-legged friend refuse to fade.

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Indeed, despite undergoing a series of laser treatments to remove the tattoo, red-raw scarring - plus the merest hint of tail - remain all too visible.

"From the front Geri looked absolutely incredible," said a beach onlooker.

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"She has clearly been working out exceedingly hard over the past few months and the results are really beginning to show through. She has acquired a very impressive six-pack stomach and amazingly toned legs.

"But when Geri turned around, all illusions of poise and elegance were thrown out the window with a really ugly scar which was obviously from a previous tattoo.

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"Not only was the scar still quite red and painful-looking but, from a distance, it looked as though it was going mouldy. On closer inspection though, this was merely the last traces of the dark tattoo ink.

"Either way, it really didn't do much for her otherwise toned and tanned physique."

Miss Halliwell, who is celebrating her birthday today, originally got the tattoo done shortly after leaving the Spice Girls in 1998.

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But in 2004, after getting fed up with it - and complaining to friends that it was beginning to 'blur' - she visited an LA clinic for a course of four laser removal treatments to get the panther beamed away at a cost of £2,000.

Laser therapy, which is said to hurt more than the sharp pain of the original tattoo, is however, not always effective - as Miss Halliwell demonstrates.

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Coloured-in tattoos and those in certain, darker inks - like the singer's panther - are generally harder to completely remove and in some cases, scarring will never completely fade.

In a recent interview Halliwell, who gave birth to daughter Bluebell last year, revealed that she is nervous about taking to the stage again.

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She said: "Until I am up on that stage I can't quite tell. I can't quite explain how it feels until you actually do it you. Having said that, I have got four other girls with me and we have always supported each other."

But Miss Halliwell is excited about the eagerly anticipated reunion.

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"I feel very optimistic and positive, the point of this is to be a very fun experience and obviously the feedback that we have had is amazing and I think that the support and the encouragement from the world is almost like helping us to make this happen."

Rehearsals for the concerts are expected to begin as soon as pregnant Emma Bunton has her baby later this summer.