Doctors are earning thousands of pounds from secret “virginity repair” operations on young women forced by their families to prove they are “pure” on their wedding night.

A Sunday Times investigation has uncovered a thriving “revirginisation” industry in Britain, with at least 22 private clinics offering hymenoplasty and patients flocking to London from abroad to undergo the surgery.

The procedure, also known as hymen repair, takes less than an hour and is performed under local anaesthetic. It involves constructing a layer of skin at the entrance to the vagina that tears when the woman has sex. The aim is to create the illusion of an “unbroken” hymen, traditionally considered to be a mark of virginity.

Some private clinics charge up to £3,000 and