Four in ten women in Bradford are waiting too long for breast cancer screening, according to the Government.

Department of Health figures have revealed only 59 per cent of women aged 50 and over are being screened every three years. All women between the ages of 50 and 70 are invited to be screened every three years, using mammograms, at a cost of £75m a year.

Last month, the Government announced plans to extend the age range to include women from the age of 47 up to 73, but according to information released in a parliamentary answer, Pennine Breast Screening Unit, where Bradford women are screened, only saw 60 per cent of women get the X-rays in the recommended time. This compares with an English average of just under 70 per cent.

However, 95 per cent of women in Bradford are receiving screenings within 38 weeks.

Only five areas in the country - the Wirral, North Nottinghamshire, Aylesbury, Wycombe and Portsmouth - boasted 100 per cent rates.

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "There is about a 75 per cent uptake of breast screening across Bradford, and the Pennine Breast Screening Service has been praised for its high uptake during external visits by the Quality Assurance team.

"Work is ongoing to improve the uptake in harder-to-reach groups. The trust is working hard to improve the number of women who receive follow-up scans within three years of their first screening and is working with Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust about how we can achieve this."

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, who asked for the information, criticised the Government for failing to improve coverage for screening by only four per cent since 1997.

He said: "Better screening is absolutely essential in improving survival rates for breast cancer patients, yet Gordon Brown's Government is failing women by its incompetence in delivering its pledges on screening. It is incredible that provision of screening for 50-64 year-olds has actually gone backwards since 2001."

Last month a study in East Anglia revealed breast cancer screening may have reduced the number of cancer deaths by at least 30 per cent. Screening every three years is estimated to reduce 40 per cent of breast cancer deaths.