BRITAIN'S worst-ever mass murderer Harold Shipman killed 215 of his patients an official inquiry into his horrific crimes confirmed this morning.

And there was "real suspicion" the family GP dubbed Doctor Death was behind another 45 deaths.

The staggering findings emerged from the inquiry held by judge Dame Janet Smith.

Her report into Shipman's killings concluded he began his killing spree in 1975 - long before he moved to his now infamous surgery at Hyde in Greater Manchester.

The report said that systems which should have safeguarded patients against misconduct failed to operate satisfactorily and that it was "deeply disturbing" that his killings did not arouse suspicion for so many years.

Of Shipman's 215 victims, 171 were women and 44 were men, with the oldest being a 93-year-old woman and the youngest a 41-year-old man.

Shipman's killing spree began just a year after he entered general practice, when working in Todmorden, West Yorkshire but the vast majority took place while the GP was working in Hyde, Greater Manchester, where he spent most of his career.