Almost half of UK men who take a paternity test turn out not to be the real father, new figures show.

Testing firm DNA Clinics, which is part of the Salford-based BioClinics Group, analysed 5,000 results selected randomly from between January 2014 and June 2016.

The results show 48 per cent or 2,396 of UK men tested were not the biological father. Fifty-two per cent, or 2,604, of those tested were proven to be the father.

For England as a whole, 51 per cent were ruled out as being the paternal father. In Northern Ireland, 42 per cent were ruled out while in Scotland the figure was 39 per cent.

The tests were carried out in cases where there was doubt about the identity of the child’s father. They were done for personal information reasons, rather than for legal purposes. The tests cost from £95.

They included the case of a woman who slept with two men on the same night and became pregnant. Another involved a woman who had a one-night stand with a close friend, without her fiancé’s knowledge.

Others featured a woman whose boyfriend was in prison when she discovered she was pregnant, and a man who thought he was unable to father children and found out his wife was expecting. He was proven to be the baby’s dad.

Nichola McChrystal, founder and scientific director at BioClinics Group, said: “The statistics are within the realms of what I would expect, due to the fact that I have worked in this industry for well over a decade. I would imagine that they would appear shocking to the general public.

“However, it is important to understand that the families approaching BioClinics for answers generally have good reasons for raising the question of paternity.

DNA Clinics offers home testing kits as well as through a nationwide network of clinics. Retail chain Boots has recently begun selling DNA Clinics’ kits online.

DNA samples are collected via mouth swabs from one father, one mother and one child, and are analysed in fully-accredited laboratories.

Nichola added: “The general public’s knowledge about DNA has changed dramatically over the past five years. It is now understood that the DNA tests are not only possible, but also commonplace.

“There is also greater knowledge about genetic inheritance and its impact on health conditions that appear throughout the generations of a family.

“More and more tests are being organised by the mother rather than the doubting father.

“There’s also been a marked increase in the number of tests being organised by older people looking for answers to questions, rumours and doubts that have plagued their families for years.

“These cases are testament to the fact that establishing paternity when a child is young is the best course of action.

“Unfortunately, however, some family secrets are only revealed when parents have passed away, and the results of subsequent tests can have a devastating effect.

DNA Clinics carries out a variety of other tests for groups including siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.