Dementia and Alzheimer’s are now the biggest cause of death in England and Wales after jumping by a fifth in a single year, official figures show.

They overtook heart disease as Britain’s biggest killer, accounting for almost one in eight deaths recorded in England and Wales 2015 – a total of 61,686 people – according to the Office for National Statistics.

The milestone is a vivid illustration of the impact of the ageing society in Britain and underlines the changing pressures facing the NHS.

It comes amid growing calls for the Chancellor Philip Hammond to use his Autumn Statement to allocate extra cash to help tackle the crisis in social care following a string of warnings that care homes face going out of business.