SUNBED users are being given "shockingly bad advice" by health clubs and tanning shops, according to a report published today.

An undercover investigation found staff failing to carry out safety checks, increasing the risk of users damaging their health and developing skin cancer.

The Consumers Association, which carried out the probe, said the results emphasised the urgent need for government regulation of the industry.

Researchers from the watchdog's consumer magazine Health Which? visited 42 tanning outlets across the UK in February.

Staff were told a friend wanted to use the sunbed: she had red hair and very fair, freckly skin that always burned in the sun - known as type 1 skin.

People in this category are among those at highest risk of developing malignant melanoma due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and sunbeds.

Nevertheless, 40 out of the 42 outlets visited said they would allow a person with type 1 skin on their sunbeds.

Just under half of the 40 were members of The Sunbed Association, (whose code of practice says members should turn away people with type 1 skin.

Six of the unnamed outlets which gave the bad advice were run by local authorities; 20 were tanning shops, 13 health and fitness clubs and one was a beauty salon.

Only two outlets - one run by a local authority and one a beauty salon - were deemed to offer an "adequate" service, although neither correctly advised customers not to have more than 60 sessions on a sunbed in a year.

The potential dangers to customers not being warned about using sunbeds was highlighted in a similar investigation by Health Which? five years ago.

Kaye McIntosh, from the magazine, said: "Very little has changed in the intervening five years, despite the huge increases in the number of people being diagnosed with potentially fatal skin cancer.

"As the industry has clearly shown that it is incapable of regulating itself, the government must act immediately and honour its duty to protect the public from serious health risks".

Sara Hiom, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Laboratory research has proved that the type of ultra-violet radiation used in sunbeds can cause all types of skin cancer.

"And studies are starting to show that sunbed use is a definite risk factor for malignant melanoma."

The Sunbed Association branded the Which? investigation "flawed". It criticised the `mystery shopper' style of research, and the criteria for evaluating and grading the service provided.