Soap star Samia Ghadie joined forces with a Wilmslow optician to launch a weekend event highlighting the effects of ultraviolet radiation.
The actress, best known for playing Maria Connor in ITV soap Coronation Street, greeted the local community and launched the special event at Albert Road Opticians.
The Sunglasses Extravaganza, which was attended by more than 30 members of the Wilmslow community, was created to raise awareness of the effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources such as tanning beds and laser machinery.
Owner of Albert Road Opticians, Deepak Oberai, was delighted with the two day event and hopes that all attendees now have the information and advice they need to protect their family's vision against harmful ultraviolet radiation.
He said: "We wanted to ensure that the community is protected against harmful ultraviolet radiation, something that many of us have no knowledge of.
"It's important that people recognise the dangers and the importance of high quality eyewear to protect their eyes; the sun's rays aren't the only form of contact with UV rays as people that work with laser machinery can also suffer with sore and irritated vision.
"Samia joined us at our Albert Road practice at around 11am on Friday to launch the event. She was absolutely fantastic and even took time to talk to our team about the best ways to protect her vision when on set and out and about this summer.
"We spoke to people about photokeratitis and the affect it has on your eyesight. Like a 'sunburn of the eye', it can cause your vision to feel sore, gritty and sensitive to light.
"It's vital that people use sunglasses that provide high quality protection; sunglasses that are readily available on the high street as fashion accessories will not protect your vision against ultraviolet radiation."
Deepak added: "We always enjoy meeting new people and it was nice to see so many families visiting the practice to find out more about protecting their vision."
