Britain will be in the grip of a flu epidemic by the end of the month if the virus continues to spread at the current rate, figures released on Thursday suggest.

The new data comes as the heads of Accident & Emergency (A&E) units warned that hospitals were being forced to take “intolerable” safety risks, with patients dying in corridors.

Health service data shows flu rates are continuing to rise, with one in five hospital cases suffering from the most deadly strain, dubbled “Aussie flu” after it fuelled the country’s worst flu season for more than two decades.

The statistics show flu rates have doubled in the past fortnight, raising the spectre of an epidemic in the UK within a month if trends continue.

It comes as the consultants leading 68 NHS A&E departments wrote to the Prime Minister, warning of “appalling” safety risks because hospitals have too few staff and beds to cope with current demand.