British scientists have developed an antibiotic from breast milk

British scientists have developed an antibiotic from breast milk capable of destroying drug-resistant bacteria.

The discovery is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the race to contain the rise of so-called superbugs that kill about 10,000 Britons each year.

Scientists say the antibiotic works by rewriting a cell’s DNA to tear bacteria apart within a fraction of a second – making it impossible for them to evolve defences.

Researchers at the National Physical Laboratory in south-west London say the drug could also be used to treat genetic diseases, such as sickle cell anaemia.

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies recently warned the public not to overuse antibiotics to avoid bacteria developing resistance to commonly used drugs.

Last night it emerged that ministers have not planned for a world without antibiotics because officials had hoped powerful new drugs would be created in time.

She told The Times: ‘We need on average ten new antibiotics every decade.

Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies recently warned the public not to overuse antibiotics

'So I don’t just want some for my old age; I want them for my children’s old age, and their children’s old age.

'And we did disinvest as a world in this sort of research, so we need to make an investment and sustain it.’

David Cameron has warned that the fight against superbugs could plunge modern medicine ‘back into the Dark Ages’.