MPs have criticised regional variations in diabetes-related amputation rates as new figures highlighted black spots in our region.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Vascular Disease condemned new figures showing that there are big differences in amputation rates in different parts of England.

MPs fear that thousands of patients may be facing unnecessary leg amputations owing to variations in practice around the country.

The figures show that patients in the North-East have a 37 per cent higher risk of losing a leg because of diabetes compared with London residents while patients in Yorkshire and Humber have a 44 per cent higher risk of amputation than in the capital.

An analysis of Clinical Commissioning Group areas identified four places in the North-East or North Yorkshire as being in the top 20 areas for the number of amputations per 1,000 patients with diabetes.

The areas were: Scarborough and Ryedale (4.2 per 1,000 adults with diabetes), Vale of York (4.1 per 1,000), Darlington (3.5 per 1,000) and Harrogate (3.4 per 1,000).

Another set of figures identified three places in our region as being in the top 20 areas for the number of leg amputations carried out over a three year period.

The areas were: Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield (79), North Durham (60) and Vale of York (48).

Neil Carmichael MP, chair of the All Party Vascular Disease Group, said: “The unacceptably high level of lower limb amputations among people with diabetes in certain areas is a real cause for alarm. There clearly is a serious problem if some regions of England have much higher amputation rates than others.”

In 2012-13 there were almost 12,000 lower limb amputations in England. The vast bulk of these lost limbs were related to a condition known as peripheral arterial disease and diabetic foot disease.