More than 250,000 young people aged between 11-17 years old are at risk of developing skin cancer by using sunbeds, according to research published by Cancer Research UK.

In a letter to the British Medical Journal, the charity said that - in England - an average of six per cent of young people use sunbeds, while half the number of girls aged between 15-17 years old in Liverpool and Sunderland use the machines. The research follows a report published earlier this year by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), declaring a "clear link" between the use of sunbeds and skin cancer.

Funded by the National Cancer Action Team and backed by the Department of Health, two studies were commissioned by Cancer Research UK involving more than 9,000 young people as part of its research. The first study - comprising 3,101 face-to-face interviews - was conducted by BMRB Omnibus, while the second involved 6,209 young people across six English cities was carried out by LVQ Research.

Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK's director of health information, said: "The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) report recommended that the government take strong action to protect young people from the dangers of using sunbeds. "Numerous other countries, including Scotland, have introduced legislation to protect children from sunbeds; we are calling on the government to introduce legislation as a matter of urgency."

A number of English and Welsh local authorities have axed sunbeds from their leisure centres in recent months as a result of the IARC study.