Girls 'can't cope with pressure to have tan'

GIRLS Aloud singer Nicola Roberts has described the pressure she faced as a youngster to have a sun tan, as the government moved to ban under 18s from using salons.

The star, famous for her alabaster-toned skin, said she used to feel unattractive if she was not tanned.

She explained: "Tanning is a subject that is really close to my heart. I was once in a place where I did feel a pressure to have a tan.

"Having a tan made me feel more attractive, it made me feel more accepted as a young girl being very influenced by peers, by media, by everybody in society.

"Without having a tan I didn't feel attractive, I just didn't feel very good at all."

Roberts spoke of her ordeal while appearing alongside Health Secretary Andy Burnham, who gave the government's backing to a call for a ban on under 18s using sunbeds in salons.

The private member's bill is being introduced by Cardiff North MP Julie Morgan.

Roberts said a recent trip to Liverpool had left her shocked after she realised just how many young girls were using sunbeds.

She said: "With no disrespect to the government and to MPs, unless you go to these streets in working-class areas and understand how these young girls feel, then you won't understand."