Teenager chosen as the face of national sun safety campaign

20/08/09

19-year-old, Annabel Banks has been chosen to front Teenage Cancer Trust’s national sun safety campaign, Shunburn. Annabel, who has never modelled before, has been photographed for the campaign by photographer and Britain’s Next Top Model judge, Huggy Ragnarsson.

The images of Annabel will be used to spread the campaign’s sun safety message all summer long on leaflets, online (www.shunburn.co.uk) and in Superdrug stores across the country. The aim of the campaign is to reach young people with important information on taking care in the sun and reducing their risk of skin cancer.

Annabel had a potentially dangerous mole removed from her neck after hearing a sun safety talk from Teenage Cancer Trust’s education team. She follows in the footsteps of high-profile celebrities including Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield and Edith Bowman who have fronted the Shunburn campaign in the past.

In the stunning series of photographs Annabel demonstrates the campaign’s five sun safety steps – wear suncream, wear a hat, cover up, seek shade between 11 and 3 and wear sunglasses.

Annabel said: “Teenage Cancer Trust’s talk inspired me to get my mole looked at. My doctor told me that it wasn’t yet cancerous but advised me to have it removed as it had the potential to become dangerous.

“From that moment on I started being much more careful about looking after my skin in the sun, because I now know that getting burnt is the most common cause of skin cancer. I was really honoured to be chosen to be the face of such an important campaign and I hope by being involved I’ll be helping other young people stay safe in the sun.”

Part of the campaign is an innovative free text alert service for young people. Text messages will be sent on hot days, giving useful sun safety tips, including reminders to wear sun cream. You can sign up by texting SHUN to 80231.

Superdrug will also donate 50p to Teenage Cancer Trust for every bottle of SPF50+ Solait sun lotion spray sold throughout the summer

Photographer Huggy Ragnarsson said: “The shoot was great and Annabel was wonderful. She was a little shy to begin with but she felt so in tune with the campaign that she wanted to give her very best and I think she definitely did that. The results from someone who has never modelled before were brilliant!”

Simon Davies, Chief Executive of Teenage Cancer Trust said: “With weathermen predicting a hot summer and skin cancer rates rising in the UK, there has never been a greater need to show young people how to protect themselves when they’re out in the sun.

“Annabel is the perfect person to head up our Shunburn campaign because she knows first-hand how important it is to protect your skin when you’re young. We hope that through our Shunburn campaign and with Annabel and Superdrug’s support we can let young people all over the UK know that they can enjoy the sun and look after their skin at the same time.”

Martin Crisp, Superdrug Superintendent Pharmacist said: “It’s a fact that the use of sun protection can cut the risk of skin cancer, this year alone we’ve seen visits to our mole clinics rise by a third as people are becoming more skin aware. Through the Shunburn campaign and with the stunning shots of Annabel in store we hope to show our customers just how important it is to be safe in the sun, and also how easy it is to have fun and enjoy the summer at the same time.”

Visit www.shunburn.co.uk for more information

• Ends -

For more information, interviews and images please contact Stephanie Westacott on 020 7612 0714 or stephanie.westacott@teenagecancertrust.org