'Suncream needed at home too'

Sunlovers who believe protective creams are only needed on foreign holidays risk creating a "skin cancer time bomb" experts warned today.

A common misconception that the sun is safer in Britain stops many people from reaching for the suncream, according to findings by Cancer Research UK. Nearly six out of 10 men and four out of 10 women never use a protective cream during sunny periods in the UK.

However, about half said they had suffered more sunburn in the UK than when abroad and almost 40 per cent reported feeling surprised that they burned at home, the study carried out with supermarket Tesco has revealed.

Dr Mark Birch-Machin, a Cancer Research UK expert, said: "Most people know that too much sun exposure causes sunburn, but few people realise that the sun's rays actually cause damage to the DNA in the skin. Accumulation of this damage can lead to a skin cancer time bomb.

"People are unaware of the very real risk posed by the sun in the UK and the damage it can cause to the skin's DNA. We are carrying out research to find out how much damage has accumulated in people's skin."

Around 2,000 people die from skin cancer in Britain each year, making up 1.4 per cent of all cancer deaths.

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