Sunbed rules ‘do not go far enough’

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) now advises that no one under 18 should be allowed into tanning salons, and that coin-operated salons should be manned by trained staff at all times.

But there is no legislation to back up the advice and businesses in breach of the guidance will face no action.

“This is a step in the right direction, but it is a bit toothless,”

said Rob Llewellyn, a health inspector at Stockton Borough Council, who campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of sunbeds.

“Without this being enforceable by law, the good premises will comply, but the unscrupulous ones will continue to let under-18s in.

“This needs to become an Act of Parliament. There is a voluntary code of conduct that is in place already and the trade as a whole is really well-managed and regulated.

But a small minority of premises cause the problem.”

Last year, The Northern Echo launched the Sunbed Safety campaign, calling for a ban on the use of solariums by under-18s, when Darlington schoolgirl Katie Turner was hospitalised after spending more than 20 minutes under lamps at a local salon.

The 15-year-old was taken to casualty with severe sunburn, sickness and headaches.

Katie’s mother, Elizabeth, said last night that the new guidance was “not enough”.

“This is good news, but the law needs to be changed so that people can’t get away with it,” said Ms Turner, of Hutton Avenue, Darlington.

“Katie shouldn’t have been able to get into the parlour at all.

“Businesses should be banned from letting children in altogether. Issuing guidelines is all very well, but plenty of businesses will ignore them.

“I was furious with what happened to Katie, but there was nothing I could do.”

Giles Denham, the policy director at the HSE, said yesterday: “We are publishing clear advice for sunbed salon owners and their customers, which reflects international health advice and good practice.

“We understand that some people may want to use sunbeds. Our guidance is designed to ensure they have the information to minimise the associated risks.

“That’s why we recommend that owners ensure their salons are staffed all the time, even if they are coin-operated, and that UV tanning equipment is not used by people under 18.”

But a spokeswoman from the HSE confirmed last night that the guidance was “not enforceable”.

The news came on the day a ten-year-old girl suffered burns over 70 per cent of her body after a 16-minute session at a coin-operated tanning studio in Port Talbot, south Wales.

Within hours of leaving the salon, Kelly Thompson was taken to hospital. Doctors said that if she had remained under the lights for a further two minutes she would have needed skin grafts.

Her mother, Sharon Hannaford, 34, of Port Talbot, said: “These sunbeds are very high-powered and there is nobody there to prevent a youngster going in and doing this.

“I want them shut down.”

Kelly has now been warned to keep out of direct sunlight for up to ten years.

Mrs Hannaford added: “I gave Kelly some money to go to the fair with her cousin but when they got there it was closed.

“As they came back, they saw the tanning salon and went in, more out of curiosity than anything.”

She said her daughter put £8 into the sunbed, lying underneath for 16 minutes.

“When she came home, she laid down and didn’t feel too good and I noticed that she was a bit red in the face.

“Over about the next three hours she became really red and was feeling cold, although she was burning up.

“In the end I had to take her to hospital, where they said she had burns over 70 per cent of her body.

“She ran out of money. If she had had more, this could have been worse.”