'I was a tanoholic'

After a draining day of auditions, 24-year-old actress Debbie Manuel knows just what to do to give herself a boost. She drops into her local beauty salon, slips into a tanning booth and treats herself to a 15-minute blast of UV rays.

"I get such a lift from a sunbed session. Having a tan makes me feel so much better. I'm instantly more confident, I feel slimmer and look healthier. Lying down in the warm, blue light of a booth is relaxing. It's my time - 15 minutes of the day that are just for me."

Like thousands of Londoners, Debbie uses a sunbed as often as three times a week. It has become a national obsession - prepare for the summer with a course of sessions, then top up your tan with regular post-holiday visits. Debbie, too, has become a "tanoholic", rarely stopping to think what effect regular tanning can have on the skin.

Recent figures suggest Britain has more cases of skin cancer than Australia, a country once known as the skin cancer capital of the world - a fact Debbie never even considered until we asked her to be the guinea pig in this investigation. Following last week's advice from the British Medical Association that people should stop using tanning machines, we took Debbie to the Courthouse Clinic in Harley Street. Skin consultant Clare Robson photo- graphed her skin with a UV Dermatology Camera, which uses fluorescent photography and ultraviolet light to penetrate the surface of the skin, revealing the degree of sun damage.

The verdict is damning. Ms Robson says: "This is the skin of someone who has been a serious sun worshipper. There is severe pigmentation damage, and Debbie's skin looks as if it belongs to someone 10 years older. At this rate, she will continue to age significantly faster than a normal person because the pigmentation has damaged the skin's lower layers."

The overall colour of Debbie's UV photograph is dark purple. Undamaged skin looks pale blue or white under UV light, and the darker the colour, the more severe the damage. Her photo is a mass of darkness, the paler patches on her cheeks are not healthy skin but dehydration.

"Her forehead is the worst-affected area, with lots of dark patches, but her whole face is affected. There are no clear areas at all - very rare in someone so young," adds Robson.

"There is a line around the lip which looks like lip liner, but it is in fact sun damage. And I can count 20 moles on her face which have emerged over the years. That's very dangerous because there is a chance of them becoming pre-cancerous."

Most of this damage is probably from the sunbed more than the sun itself, because Debbie does use factor 15 on holiday. Her saving grace is that she has oily skin, which slows the ageing process. To the outside eye, Debbie's skin hasn't started to age yet, but it will probably soon begin to lose elasticity.

"If she carries on using sunbeds eventually, by 45, her face will begin to look like a leather handbag," says Robson. "And the implication for the rest of her body is equally worrying - potentially cancerous moles could appear anywhere, and her skin, particularly around the arms and legs, will suffer terribly.

"The good news is that it is possible to reverse some of the damage, because young skin still has stores of collagen and natural fatty acids. To put it plainly, Debbie needs to get off the sunbeds altogether."

Sun damage is caused by both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays cause ageing and UVB cause burning. UVA rays eliminate antioxidants, which are vital for fighting the free radicals that cause ageing. UV rays also destroy collagen, which means that skin becomes lined more quickly.

Experts agree that it is essential to wear sunscreen with UVA and B protection every day. SPF protection alone is not enough: most SPF moisturisers only protect against UVA rays. So the best advice to anyone who wants colour on their face is to start using fake tan.

Debbie was shocked by the results. "I'm never going on a sunbed again. I'm stunned. I felt sick when Clare said that my skin was 10 years older than me. I thought there might be a little bit of damage, but I can't believe how severe it is.

"My attitude has always been that, even though I know sunbeds are bad, I think I can get away with just one more. Seeing the evidence in black and white is terrifying. I always look at older women who have obviously been using a sunbed for years and have leathery skin. They look awful. I always vow I won't look like that. It's very sobering to think that that is the path I've been on.

"But I do feel optimistic, because there is something I can do to repair the damage. I am going to follow the advice about suncreens and fake tanning cream. And I won't go on a sunbed again. No matter how good a tan looks, it's just not worth it. I'd rather be pale and have my health."

Last week, the BMA urged people who use sunbeds for cosmetic purposes to stop altogether - so serious are the risks. Despite this being the latest in a series of warnings about sunbeds, thousands of people seem to have decided that nothing is more important than a year-round tan.

Debbie's taste for a tan began in childhood. Her parents, who love the sun, took her and her brother on sunseeking holidays to Portugal, Cyprus, Spain, Majorca and America: "My mother, Jane, loves sunbathing and always has a tan," says Debbie. "She is 51, and looks fantastic. She has fabulous skin which might have unconsciously made me believe sunbathing is not a problem - although she does use fake tan a lot. Although my mum uses sunbeds twice a month, she tells me I shouldn't use them, but I do find it hard to take her seriously."

Having used a sunbed once a month since she was 19, Debbie now has a sunbed session up to three times a week. "I burn quite often, especially on my chest and legs, and I've developed freckles and moles on my shoulders, chest and face.

"The whole cancer thing really scares me. I'm a paranoid person anyway, and there's a history of cancer in my family so I'm really aware of the risks. Even so, I'm using a sunbed now more than ever.

"My boyfriend bought me a course in January, and I've been going at least every week since then. Since March I've used it two or three times a week. I'm on a roll at the moment, building up a tan and getting ready for summer.

"On holiday I use suncream and switch between factors 10 and 15. But on a sunbed I use cream that contains a tan accelerator.

"Sunbeds are my only vice - I don't smoke and I don't drink, although I think tanning is quite addictive. As I'm lying on the sunbed I always say to myself, 'I must stop. I'm going to stop tomorrow.' But then I book myself in for just one more session. I don't think I'll be doing that any longer."

Courthouse Clinic offers skin consultations with a UV camera from £20; 95 Harley Street; 020 7224 2465.