BEACHES are great places for the family, but just a day baking in the sunshine could have serious repercussions.

Health chiefs believe that for every 200 children playing on the beach, four will suffer melanoma at some point in their lives and one will die from it.

Harry Turnbull, whose sister lives in York, knows how devastating melanoma can be.

His wife, Myfanwy, was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 40. She died aged 60 after the cancer spread to her brain and womb.

Doctors told her the melanoma could have been triggered when she burned badly while playing on a beach in Skegness, aged seven.

Harry and their three sons launched the Melanoma Fund to raise awareness and fund research into the disease.

He said: "Inspect your children's moles: then inspect your own. See a doctor at once if any mole is large, has an irregular outline, is rough to the touch, multi-coloured (such as brown, pink and black), changes colour, is crusty or bleeds at the edges.

"See a doctor now, not when you get back from holiday in a fortnight's time.

"Catching malignant melanoma early is the best chance of survival."

Macmillan Cancer Relief, in York, is urging people to protect themselves against the risk of skin cancer.

The charity endorses the Slip, Slop, Slap campaign, advising sunworshipers to "slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat."

Updated: 10:45 Friday, July 22, 2005