The mother of a teenage girl who was severely burned at an unmanned tanning salon yesterday said her daughter lives with the knowledge that she may have seriously damaged her skin.

The mother of a teenage girl who was severely burned at an unmanned tanning salon yesterday said her daughter lives with the knowledge that she may have seriously damaged her skin.

Jill McRae told an inquiry into the regulation of sunbeds how 14-year-old Kirsty, whose parents are originally from Bishopton, Renfrewshire, was taken to hospital with first-degree burns on 70% of her body after spending 19 minutes on a coin-operated machine.

Giving evidence to members of the Welsh Assembly's Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee, she supported calls for a ban on under-18s using sunbeds.

She said her daughter had never been on a sunbed before and had been expressly forbidden from using them.

Kirsty needed oxygen and was put on intravenous drips at hospital, her mother said. She was in a "great deal of pain for some time afterwards" and took about a fortnight to heal superficially.

"She lives with the knowledge that she may have done irreparable damage to her skin that may not become evident for a number of years," she said.

She added: "I would like to see regulation of all establishments which operate this equipment.

"I would like people still to have freedom of choice. At the end of the day we can only put the message out about the damage.

"But if they choose to use it they should be able to do so in a safe, hygienic environment that's run responsibly and professionally - and I do not believe that includes unmanned and coin-operated salons."

Mrs McRae, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales, appeared alongside Cancer Research UK, which said sunbeds are estimated to kill 100 people in the UK every year.

The charity called for a ban on unstaffed salons and blamed sunbeds, along with "binge tanning" on holiday, for a rise in the most serious form of skin cancer.

In 2007, 2042 people died from malignant melanoma in the UK.

Sarah Woolnough, from the charity, said: "There's no such thing as responsible sunbed use and a number of bodies have said similar things. What we do know is that sunbed use offers no health benefits and causes damage because ultraviolet light causes damage to the skin."

The charity's research in Wales found 8.2% of 11- to 17-year-olds said they had used a sunbed at least once. More than one in five girls aged 15 to 17 has used a sunbed.

The ban on unmanned salons was supported by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, which said the Assembly should be given powers over regulating the industry.

Director Julie Barratt said: "Children are being burned in Wales right now."

Anyone using a machine should sign a form to show they understand the health risks involved, she said.

"We are saying that the individual should be given health advice and if you're going to be giving health advice, the sensible thing to do is to make sure that the individual who has been given health advice acknowledges that they have.

"That protects the operators against allegations that they didn't tell the individual of the risk that they were running and then it means the individual is fully aware and has had to sign to say that is the case."

Trade body the Sunbed Association demands that its members have trained staff available when salons are open to the public.

Association chief executive Kathy Banks supported a ban on unmanned salons, saying: "We actually think they are dangerous when you get children walking in there and messing around."

She said the association was not convinced that it should increase an over-16s age restriction for its members.

"In terms of medical and scientific evidence, there's no difference between the skin type of a 16, 17 or 18-year-old," she said.

Legislation raising the minimum age to 18 is due in Scotland later this year.