A huge variation in standards of NHS care for diabetes patients in England is costing 24 thousand lives and wasting tens of millions of pounds a year.

The National Audit Office says fewer than half are getting minimum standards.

Just 6 per cent of sufferers receive the recommended treatment in some areas - compared with almost 70 in others.

No Primary Care Trust delivered the nine basic processes which reduce the risk of complications - but North Somerset was among the best.