A man died after doctors found an aneurysm the size of a golf ball - but failed to tell him or take any action for five years, an inquest has heard.

A coroner has written to Jeremy Hunt following the death of John Higgs, who was repeatedly seen in hospital, without anything being done about the bulging blood vessel which went on to kill him.

Mr Hunt has been warned of “a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken” at Barnsley Hospital in South Yorkshire, unless its systems are overhauled.

The pensioner collapsed in November 2015 and was taken to the hospital, where he died later that day.

A scan revealed a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm - a swelling in the the main blood vessel that leads away from the heart, down through the abdomen to the rest of the body.

A ruptured aneurysm can cause massive internal bleeding and is usually fatal.

Mr Higgs' aneurysm measured 6.6cm and was classed as large.

It was only after his death that his wife learned he had had a CT scan in March 2011, which had found a 6 cm aneurysm in the same location.

Neither Mr Higgs or his GP had been told about this and the consultant in charge of his case had taken no action over it, the inquest found.