Up to 60,000 cancer test results may have to be reviewed after women were found to have been wrongly given the all-clear, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

The failings by NHS screening services could mean more than 1,000 women have been given the wrong result, after errors in one laboratory.

NHS screening services have begun reviewing a sample of cervical cancer screening results, after inspectors raised fears that mistakes were being made.

So far checks on 900 samples have found 17 cases where women were incorrectly told their results were negative.

Nine have been contacted for rescreening, while eight were referred for further investigation, after abnormalities and pre-cancerous changes were found.

Screening services have begun checking 2,500 samples taken at a laboratory in Basildon, in Essex, between April 2016 and September 2017, sending letters to patients when mistakes were uncovered.

But health officials say further investigations may be required, to see if the blunders have affected around 60,000 women who had smears at hospitals in Essex during the period.