FEARS that radiation from the Fylingdales radar base could pose a cancer threat have prompted a health probe.

The investigation to find out whether there is a cancer cluster around the hilltop base has been ordered by Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust, in North Yorkshire.

Health officials say there is no evidence to connect the early warning base, near Goathland, to cancer cases in the area.

The probe follows the screening of a BBC1 documentary this summer, which highlighted claims by a US scientist that bases such as Fylingdales could pose a serious threat to health.

A similar base on Cape Cod, in the US, is at the centre of an investigation into an unexplained cancer cluster.

The documentary led to a request from Scarborough MP Lawrie Quinn and Ryedale MP John Greenway for the NHS to carry out a precautionary health check.

The study will compare the number of cancer deaths in the area in the 1990s to figures for all of North Yorkshire and England. It aims to spot any suspicious clusters of cases.

It is hoped the results of the study, by the North Yorkshire Cancer Registry, will be ready in time for the trust's meeting next month.

Campaigner Jackie Fearnley, of Goathland, said she was shocked by the revelations from the US and remained worried about the safety of Fylingdales.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said he welcomed the study but said levels of radiation were well within the maximum limits set by the British Radiological Board. "It is safe, perfectly safe," he said.