Britain’s obesity epidemic is fuelling devastating numbers of amputations - almost all of which could have been prevented, experts have warned.

Official figures show the number of cases have reached an all-time-high, with more than 8,500 procedures carried out last year as a result of diabetes.

Nine in ten cases of the condition are type 2, which is linked to obesity and inactivity.

Official figures from Public Health England show 23 amputations are carried out every day, with a 16 per cent rise in interventions between 2013 and 2016, compared with the previous three years.

Diabetes UK said the findings were “devastating” and often life-threatening - with up to 80 per cent of diabetic patients dying within five years of surgery.

The charity warned that the trend was being fuelled by soaring obesity rates, with two in three adults now overweight or obese.

People with diabetes have an increased risk of foot ulcers, which can deteriorate quickly.

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said he was “numb with fury” about the failure of successive Governments to prevent a growing obesity epidemic.