Morrisons has partnered with the NHS to put advice on underwear labels, urging people to contact their GP practice if they spot potential symptoms of breast or testicular cancer.

The Nutmeg branded underwear featuring NHS cancer awareness messaging will be in 240 of the supermarket giant’s stores nationwide, initially in boxer shorts and followed by crop top bras in coming months.

The guidance will be displayed on the fabric labels alongside the standard sizing and care information.

There will also be a QR code on the packaging and tags linking customers through to more detailed information on breast and testicular cancer on the NHS website.

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Morrisons corporate affairs director, David Scott, said: “We are proud to be leading the way in offering NHS England a new route to reach customers with important messages about body awareness and the symptoms of breast and testicular cancer.

“The new care labels on our crop top bras and boxers urge people to get to know their bodies so that they can more easily notice changes and to contact their GP practice sooner if something doesn’t feel right. In the majority of cases, it won’t be cancer, but where it is cancer, diagnosing it early means treatments are more likely to be successful and can ultimately save lives.”

Morrisons has also made a £10,000 donation to NHS Charties Together and has committed to transferring more than £2m from its apprenticeship levy to Yorkshire Ambulance Service to help train around 200 paramedics in the region.

NHS England national director for cancer, Dame Cally Palmer, added: “This is the first time the whole of the NHS has worked with a national supermarket brand to put health messaging on clothing, with the aim of encouraging thousands more people to be body aware, so they can spot new or unexplained changed that might be cancer symptoms early, and contact their GP practice for checks if concerned.

“Cancer survival is at an all-time high – survival for both breast and testicular cancers have improved significantly over the last 50 years and we’re seeing more people than ever before diagnosed at an early stage – and this partnership with Morrisons is just one of the many ways we are ensuring people are aware of potential cancer symptoms.”