A British man with HIV hopes to become the first in the world to be cured of the disease by using a pioneer­ing new therapy designed to eradicate the virus.

The 44-year-old is the first of 50 people to complete a trial of the ambitious treatment, designed by scientists and doctors from five of Britain’s leading universities.

It is the first therapy created to track down and destroy HIV in every part of the body — including in the dormant cells that evade current treatments. If successful it offers hope of an irreversible cure for HIV and could save the NHS millions of pounds.

The study that could lead to a cure for HIV

Early tests show the virus is undetectable in the man’s blood. But he will have to wait some months before confirmation