The majority of Britons support fines for people who miss GP and hospital appointments to boost NHS funding.

Adding fees for patients whose diseases are triggered by unhealthy lifestyles are also popular, a survey reveals.

Polling by Ipsos Mori shows four in five adults support a 4 per cent annual rise in funding over the next 15 years.

The figure is the amount which the Institute of Fiscal Studies says is required to keep pace with demand and make modest improvements.

Asked how funding should be raised, the poll of more than 1,000 adults found charges for missed GP and hospital appointments won most support, backed by 71 per cent of those polled.