Anyone at high risk of diabetes should have no hesitation in asking for a test, says local MEP Liz Lynne after being tested herself at an event to mark World Diabetes Day.

According to worrying research by the charity Diabetes UK there are already 255,405 people diagnosed with diabetes in the West idlands region and around 50,000 more people who have the condition without knowing it. Diabetes has been linked to almost one in eight adult deaths in the West Midlands.

Liz said: “It is worrying that so many people in our region and up to 750,000 people in the UK may have type 2 diabetes without knowing it and this number is set to increase. Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating and costly disease but with early diagnosis many of the more serious complications may be avoided. I would encourage anyone at risk to take the test which is really simple, it only takes a few minutes and could save their life. “The traditional warning signs of type 2 diabetes are often missing or hard to detect, which makes a test even more important.”