Record number of people are undergoing amputations on the NHS, official figures show, amid warnings that diabetes will soon afflict one in 10 adults.

Health officials said it was a “tragedy” that so many people were facing life-changing surgery as a result of preventable ill-health.

Estimates suggest that almost 5 million adults will suffer from Type Two diabetes by 2035 - a rise from 3.9 million, they said.

The trend - fuelled by soaring obesity levels - means almost one in 10 adults will have the condition in less than two decades.

The statistics from Public Health England (PHE) reveal 27,465 amputations between 2015 and 2018, compared with 24,181 cases between 2012 and 2015 - a rise of 14 per cent.

Britain’s obesity levels are the highest in Western Europe, and rising faster than those of the United States.

Two in three adults are overweight or obese, along with one in three children by the age of 11.