More women are seeking breast augmentation on the NHS

A study published on Friday showed that increasing numbers of women are queuing up to have this treatment on the NHS.

Many who are having the operation in NHS clinics had also been trying to save up for private surgery, which costs several thousand pounds.

Since 1997 Owen Hughes, who works for Northamptonshire NHS Trust, has been seeing women asking for the cosmetic treatment.

He said: "My argument would be that it's cheaper and more effective to give women the operation than to dig around in their past.

"If there are a lot of psychological issues, we will say no to surgery.

"Some people would say it's as valid as a knee replacement."

'Increasing number of woman'

Mr Hughes said the number of breast enlargement patients in Northamptonshire had risen from "one or two per year" in 1997 to about five or six "every couple of months".

A team of researchers attending the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Bournemouth on Friday confirmed that "an increasing number of women" were seeking breast augmentation in NHS cosmetic surgery clinics.

The investigators carried out a study which indicated that women wanting their breasts enlarged suffered more depression, anxiety and low self-esteem than a comparison group from the general population.

About three-quarters of the women seeking surgery were approved for treatment after undergoing a psychological examination.

Most were aged in their late 20s and 30s, and many were seriously distressed by their small breast size.