The number of vacuum pumps prescribed for men in Bristol has been revealed.

A total of 73 of the devices were prescribed by NHS doctors in 2016/17 in Bristol, new data reveals.

That works out as the equivalent of 43 prescriptions for every 100,000 men aged 20-90 in the area.

Men in Bristol are below the national average for using vacuum pumps for erectile dysfunction.

A vacuum pump is a device used to help achieve and maintain an erection by drawing blood into the penis via air suction.

It is not a cure for erectile dysfunction as it does not address the causes, but it can help increase the ability to have sexual intercourse.

Elsewhere in the South West, South Gloucestershire saw the highest rate locally with 68 prescriptions for the devices (66 for every 100,000 men in the area) and North Somerset had 47 (60 per 100,000 men).

In England as a whole, there were 14,556 prescriptions for vacuum pumps for erectile dysfunction in 2016/17, costing the NHS £1.4m.

That works out the equivalent of 71 devices for every 100,000 men aged 20 to 90.

Havering, Essex, saw the highest proportion with 192 erectile pumps prescribed, the equivalent of 215 for every 100,000 resident men.

North Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, saw the lowest proportion. Only five devices prescribed for a population of less than 70,000.