A gym owner in Lancashire has been fined £500 for failing to prevent a 15-year-old girl from using a sunbed.

Stewart Hall, owner the Olympic Power Mill gym in Bury, didn't check the age of the teenage student who developed severe burns and was hospitalised after using an onsite sunbed.

In addition to the £500 fine, Hall was ordered to pay court costs of £1,500. He has since sold the gym.

The case has been seen as a landmark as it is the first successful prosecution under the Sunbeds Regulation Act 2010, which came into effect April 2011.

The act prevents businesses from allowing under-18's to use sunbeds. Owners must also prevent youngsters from entering 'restricted zones' around the sunbeds.

Hermione Lawson, of the British Skin Foundation, said: "The fact is that you can never be too sure of how much risk you're putting yourself in when using a sun bed.

"Recent research found that nine out of 10 sunbeds in England fail to meet British and European safety standards. If young people are intent on looking tanned, there are alternatives to sun beds that don't carry the same risks, spray tanning and self tanning creams being two good examples."