Sunshine may protect people against multiple sclerosis, according to an Oxford study.

Prof Michael Goldacre, of Oxford University's Institute of Health Sciences, discovered that people with MS were half as likely to contract skin cancer as other people, and his results will back up the work of scientists already looking at ways to use sunlight to treat MS in the future.

But he warned his study was not an excuse to ignore public health warnings about sunbathing.

It is not understood what causes MS, a neurological condition which can leave sufferers severely disabled.

Prof Goldacre said the condition was linked to latitude, as it was more common north and south of the Equator than in the tropics.

He added: "It's been quite difficult for people to put together evidence as to whether it is sunshine that is the link, or some other geographical factor.

"We looked at skin cancer on the grounds that if it was sunshine, people would expect low rates of skin cancer in MS sufferers, as skin cancer is a marker of high sun exposure."

Prof Goldacre and his team at the university's department of public health looked at the medical history of 5,004 Oxfordshire people diagnosed with MS between 1963 and 1999. Only 10 cases of skin cancer were recorded -- 0.2 per cent of the group.

In a comparison group of 432,091 people without MS from the same area, 2,284 cases of skin cancer were diagnosed -- 0.5 per cent.

Prof Goldacre said this bolstered the claim that sunshine was a factor in the cause of MS.

Scientists are studying the benefits to sufferers of ultraviolet rays and vitamin D, which is acquired from sunlight.

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