Skin cancer is the most common and fastest-growing cancer in the Netherlands and older people are most affected, Dutch cancer centre IKNL said on Tuesday.

Almost 75,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year with an average of 1,085 new patients for every hospital, new IKNL figures show.

Almost half a million people have been diagnosed with the disease in the last 10 years with hospitals having an average of 7,071 patients currently on their books.

An action plan launched five years ago has done nothing to stop the numbers from growing so far, IKNL researcher Marieke Louwman told RTL Nieuws. However, she said, a change would not be visible for some time because many people who were exposed to too much sun in the 1970s are only getting skin decades later.

“The average age for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is 65 while the damage is done much earlier, after several serious sunburns at a young age,” she said.

There are three main variations of skin cancer, of which melanoma is the deadliest. Squamous cell carcinoma is the next most dangerous form while basal cell carcinoma poses the least risk and can usually be removed without further consequences.

Light-skinned people are most at risk but anyone who does not protect themselves from the sun can get skin cancer.

Last summer, hundreds of sunscreen dispensers were placed around the country to help festival goers and day trippers to protect their skin for free when temperatures soared.