Prince William has suggested offering a free pint to men could be a way to help those reluctant to get a health check-up. The Duke of Cambridge appeared to be only half joking when he put forward the idea to help tackle a problem with men who sometimes dismiss changes in their body until it is too late.

His comment came in the grounds of London’s Royal Marsden Hospital when he toured the Man Van, a mobile clinic providing free health checks to men, especially black men who have a higher risk of dying from prostate cancer than other ethnic groups. William asked what the symptoms of prostate cancer were, after admitting he did not know, and when told changes in toilet habits was one factor he said: “It’s tricky when it’s so subtle.”

He told Fionnuala McCarthy, an advanced nurse practitioner, who this week has been seeing patients in south London, “I have an idea that could go down very badly but it might be quite good – you could offer a free pint. I think guys having a pint while you’re having you blood test that would be a great way of doing it.”

Her colleague Dr Masood Moghul, a clinical research fellow who is collecting data from the men seen, said maybe they could look for funding for a coffee machine. But William replied: “You’re going to have to think a bit imaginatively to get guys in here. It’s a kind of thing they’ll do if there’s a fun thing that goes with it, not too serious.”