IF your burning ambition is to become a bronzed Adonis (or Athena) this summer then take a word of warning from Simon Hope Experts are warning that slapping on the sun cream may not be enough to protect you from the sun's harmful rays.

And the 40-year-old pub landlord knows at first hand just how vital it can be to heed that warning.

Simon, the former landlord of the Flying Dutchman at Padiham, who now runs the Rose and Crown at Clitheroe, first discovered a mole on his chest in April 2005. The mole fell off, regrew then began to bleed. Later it was operated upon and tests revealed that the growth was malignant and Simon had skin cancer.

More surgery followed at the Royal Preston Hospital and the father-of-two had more damaged tissue removed.

Further scans gave him the all-clear but he said: "It's vital that people do not do damage to their skin in the sun.

"And it is down to parents to cover up young children - because they will run around in the sun for 12 hours.

"You just need to ensure that they wear T-shirts, sunglasses and hats at the hottest points of the day.

"If you have a toddler in a pram, with a parasol, then make sure it covers their legs, because you can still get burned there and catch skin cancer."

Because of his condition Simon requires regular check-ups - he believes he can trace his problems back to particularly bad sunburn in his younger days.

He also used to be a regular user of sun beds but knows this is now a no-go area.

Met Office forecasters have confirmed we have experienced the warmest April in at least 350 years, and predictions for a long, hot summer are being made.

But new research by skin specialists in Zurich has demonstrated that there is no substitute for covering up in the battle against skin cancer and melanomas.

Dr Stephan Lautenschlager, one of the Swiss skin specialists, says: "Wearing sunprotective clothes and a hat and reducing sun exposure to a minimum should be preferred to sunscreens.

"Often this solution is deemed to be unacceptable and sunscreens could become the predominant mode of sun protection. Nevertheless, sunscreens should not be abused in an attempt to increase time in the sun."

While creams and lotions can protect against sunburn and less serious forms of skin disease, there was still no real evidence that they prevented more virulent forms of the cancer, he said.

This week Macmillan Cancer Support is launching Sun Awareness Week, amid predictions by weather forecasters of glorious sunshine ahead.

Skin cancer remains the most common form of the disease in the UK, with 73,000 cases reported each year.

The charity is launching a cancer support line, for those worried about the threat, on 0808 808 2020.