HEALTH officials will be touring Hampshire in a campaign to raise awareness among Hampshire residents of signs of cancer.

The Be Clear on Cancer campaign for Wessex is focused on helping people to particularly spot the signs of esophageal or stomach cancer.

It urges people to visit their doctor if they have heartburn most days for three weeks or more as this could be a potential sign of these types of cancer that 710 people in Wessex are diagnosed with each year.

About 530 people die from these diseases annually.

The four-week campaign, targeted at the over-50s as the majority of those diagnosed are in this age group, will include adverts and a roadshow including Hampshire.

It was launched after a survey by Public Health England found only one in two people would visit a doctor if they had such symptoms while 59 per cent of people asked did not know heartburn could be a sign of cancer.

It will be at The Bridge Shopping Centre in Portsmouth on February 4 and 5 and the Meridian Centre, in Havant on February 6 and 7.