Recent case of a 14-year-old girl getting burns over 70% body due to excessive use of an unmanned tanning salon has once put question mark on the safety of such tanning salons.

Kirsty McRae from Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan suffered first degree burns, the lowest level of skin burn after using a coin-operated sunbed for 19 minutes on Monday. After using sunbed she felt something was wrong with her. She was later admitted to hospital where she was put on a drip and given oxygen while doctors rehydrated her.

Kirsty said that she had no idea the tanning booths were so dangerous.

She said: "It was my first time using a sunbed and after four minutes I couldn't tell any difference."

"I put another £3 in the slot but as soon as I'd finished I knew something was wrong."

No one present in salon to warn her against excessive use of sunbed.

Mrs McRae, a health and safety officer, her mother said: "These sunbeds and unmanned salons pose an enormous risk to all potential users."

Julie Barratt, director of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in Wales, said that as this unfortunate case demonstrates, there is no effective control over who uses such facilities and how they are used.