The 1970s trend of using of cooking oil as sunscreen is making a modern day comeback, according to a new survey.

More than a fifth of Britons are now turning to their kitchen cupboards in a misguided attempt to get the perfect summer tan.

A poll commissioned by Asda has found that a fifth of Britons use cooking oil instead of sun cream in a misguided attempt to tan faster.

The poll found that a third of Britons don't bother with sunscreen at all, even though one in ten had suffered such severe burns that they were forced to go to the doctor.

Experts said that cooking oil provides no UV protection, and heat up when the skin is exposed to the sun, burning the skin and leaving tissue damage that could cause long-term scarring end even skin cancer.

The push for oil as sunscreen took off in the 1960s, when the tanning furore hit Britain and people could afford to travel abroad on holidays, and peaked a decade later.

Many people used baby oil, coconut oil and cooking oil to speed up their tans before scientists discovered that UVA rays damage the skin.

This trend still persists thanks to misinformation online, with dozens of beauty blogs falsely claiming that oil will speed up tans.