AN INNOVATIVE strategy using two "coughing actors" riding Scunthorpe's buses has been used to help raise awareness of lung cancer.

Sara Beasley has been "nagging" colleague Tim Rutherford about his cough as part of an NHS initiative to highlight the importance of catching the disease in its early stages.

The Cough, Cough campaign has been developed to encourage people to spot the signs of lung disease and seek medical help as early as possible.

Tim said: "Me and Sara have been playing a married couple and she's giving me earache about my coughing.

"We do the act for 10 minutes until we let people know that we're actors and then we hand out leaflets.

"This morning it was mostly elderly women who spoke to us, but a girl of about 15 came up to me this afternoon and told me she was going to give it to her dad a leaflet because he and all his mates smoke.

"I've never done anything like this so it has been a bit of a challenge because we've not known what to expect, but it's been a really successful day."

The act is just one of the initiatives being used by NHS North Lincolnshire as part of an intensive 12-week awareness campaign to help improve lung cancer survival rates among North Lincolnshire people.

About 26,500 adult smokers in North Lincolnshire are at risk of lung cancer and, each year, about 108 people in the area are diagnosed with the disease.

The mortality rate associated with lung cancer in North Lincolnshire is 44.71 per 100,000 people, compared with 38.55 per 100,000 nationally.

Two-thirds of sufferers in the region are men and 60 per cent of people diagnosed are under the age of 75.

Sara said: "I've been nagging Tim to go to the doctors all day and most people on the bus have been agreeing with me and telling Tim that he should listen to me.

"Most people have been saying that men don't take as much notice of their health.

"I think a lot of people will go away and talk about the act, which is good because it is also getting people talking about lung cancer.

"The day has been really good fun and I think we certainly got the massage out to a lot of people."

In addition to the coughing actors, mobile coughing adverts have been patrolling the streets as part of the wider campaign.

Frances Cunning, director of public health for NHS North Lincolnshire, said: "Lung cancer mortality rates in Scunthorpe are higher than the national average and are beginning to show signs of rising.

"This year, we wanted to take a number of new approaches to help people understand that lung cancer is a treatable disease and that the chances of survival are much better if it is caught early.

"We thought the actors would be a really interesting way to create a buzz about the campaign in the region."

If you have had a cough for more than three weeks, you should visit www.3weekcough.org