More than a third of women in south-west London at risk of breast cancer are failing to take up the chance of lifesaving screening.

According to the report by the London Assembly, less than three-quarters of women aged 53 to 64 years in Croydon, Kingston, Richmond and Twickenham, Sutton, Merton, Wandsworth and Hounslow are being screened for breast cancer.

Just 59 per cent of women in the at risk' age group in Hounslow, Richmond and Twickenham are being screened.

Wandsworth (60.7 per cent), Croydon (63 per cent), Sutton and Merton (68.4 per cent) and Kingston (71 per cent) were all below the national average of 75 per cent of at risk women being screened.

The London average is 62 per cent.

The report also found older women in more affluent areas are most at risk of developing breast cancer, although survival rates are lower in more deprived areas.

The risk increases as women get older, with 80 per cent of cases occurring in women over 50.

Joanne McCartney, chairman of the assembly's health and public services committee, said: "Breast screening saves 1,400 lives every year, yet more lives could be saved if more women were screened.

"Early diagnosis is crucial to survival which is why our report puts forward a number of ways to improve the screening rates in the capital and to make women more aware of the symptoms and risks of breast cancer."

The report found there was a lack of detailed information about why women were missing appointments.

A rolling screening programme currently invites women aged 50 to 70 for a mammogram yet there are still low levels of awareness of the screening programme, breast cancer symptoms and risks among certain groups.