A survey by the British Association of Dermatologists revealed that one out of two people are unlikely to spot the signs of a possible skin cancer. One in four never check their skin for the disease.

The Sun Awareness Week campaign sets out to change that.

Maria Tabou, Sun Awareness officer at the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “We want people to become more aware of skin cancer because you only get to wear your skin once – early detection saves lives”.

Using the British Association of Dermatologists ABCD-Easy guide to moles to detect signs of a melanoma. Look out for:

Asymmetry - the two halves of the area may differ in shape

Border - the edges of the area may be irregular or blurred, and sometimes show notches

Colour - this may be uneven. Different shades of black, brown and pink may be seen

Diameter - most melanomas are at least 6mm in diameter. Report any change in size, shape or diameter to your doctor

Expert - if in doubt, check it out!

If your GP is concerned about your skin, make sure you see a Consultant Dermatologist. NHS doctors will check moles that patients are concerned about free of charge.

The dark side of the sun~ Every year 70,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with skin cancer and 2,000 die from malignant melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer) - the equivalent of someone dying every four hours from skin cancer.

~ 1,309 people were diagnosed with melanoma in the South East of England in 2005, with a fifth of these from the Kent and Medway. However, as melanoma is the least common form of skin cancer, many more people were diagnosed with the other types of the disease.

~ There are 75,000 new cases diagnosed each year with over 2,300 of these people dying from the disease. The number of cases of melanoma in young people has doubled in the last 20 years and it’s the damage done to the skin in the younger years that can lead to skin cancer in later life.