Beating Bowel Cancer: Awareness is shocking

Hillary Whittaker, chief executive of Beating Bowel Cancer, said the charity is "constantly shocked at how low public awareness is of bowel cancer".

The disease is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths in the UK and about 36,000 people are diagnosed with it every year in the UK.

But awareness of bowel cancer symptoms remains poor; a problem targeted each year by the charity in its Be Loud! campaign.

"Our Be Loud! campaign can have a huge impact, as it brings bowel cancer information to the public's attention," Ms Whittaker said.

The campaign has been backed by health guru Gillian McKeith, who is encouraging people to find out about symptoms of bowel cancer and visit their GP with any concerns.