People waiting for a bus in South Oxhey will soon find the shelter coughing at them.

Bus stops in Eastbury Road, Sandy Lane and Hayling Road, have been fitted with a device which senses when someone is approaching and plays the sound of someone clearing their throat.

NHS Hertfordshire hopes the shelters, which are part of a campaign to encourage people to go to the GP with their unidentified coughs, will help people spot the warning signs of cancer.

Jerry Zapala, a 56-year-old cancer survivor from Watford, said:

“I woke up one morning with a terrific pain in my side, as if I’d been kicked. My GP sent me for a chest x-ray, and within a day or two the doctor called me and said I want you to go and see someone at the hospital.

“Although I’ve seen lots of friends and family succumb to cancer over the past few years I never once thought that I might die. I consider myself incredibly lucky to be free of cancer.”

The coughing bus shelters will be active until April 24.