Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling cuddled up to flame-haired pop princess Nicola Roberts last week, as he backed her campaign to ban under 18s from using sunbeds.

Mr Pelling spoke out during a House of Commons debate on the subject, arguing money spent on policing the ban would be a worthwhile use of cash saved treating fewer teenage skin cancer cases on the NHS.

Girls Aloud member Miss Roberts, 24, recently fronted a BBC3 documentary exposing a teenage obsession with tanning.

She said: “I spoke to one 11-year-old girl who was able to go into an unsupervised tanning salon and basically lie there and burn.”

The Government has given its backing to a Private Members’ Bill banning salon sunbeds for under 18s, and will soon be voting on whether to outlaw unsupervised booths.