Cancer patients are waiting up to 18 months for treatment amid soaring NHS delays, new figures show.

The statistics released following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show one patient waited 541 days for treatment after being referred urgently with suspected cancer by their GP. Another waited 446 days, against a target to complete treatment within 62 days.

Labour - which carried out the research - said the figures reflected an “abject failure” by Government to invest in health services, and prevent short staffing.

The figures from NHS trusts show that some patients waited more than a year even to see a consultant, after being referred by a GP because cancer was suspected.

Overall, 69 per cent of trusts had seen their longest waits lengthen, since 2010, the research by Labour shows.

The responses from 88 NHS acute and community trusts show that on average, the longest wait reported by each trust for cancer treatment amounted to 213 days.