The one-year survival rate for bowel cancer patients in Morecambe Bay is among the highest in England.

But at the start of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Bowel Cancer UK warned that survival levels across England could drop to those of a decade ago as a result of disruption during the pandemic, which has had "devastating consequences" for some patients.

Public Health England figures show adults aged between 15 and 99 in the NHS Morecambe Bay CCG area had an 84.1 per cent chance of surviving for one year when diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2018 – the most recent year available.This was up from 83.4 er cent the year before, and a vast improvement on 72 per cent in 2003, when such records began.

The survival rate of Morecambe Bay patients is also among the highest in England, and well above the average of 80.7 per cent.

Though the highest figure on record, this national measure varies widely across the country.