PEOPLE across the region are being urged to take part in bowel cancer screening when the opportunity is offered.

An invitation to complete a simple faecal test is sent to people aged 60 to 74 every two years.

A tiny poo sample returned through the post is examined for any hidden blood, which can be an indicator of bowel cancer.

West Yorkshire and Harrogate has a 68 per cent average response rate to screening, which is eight per cent above the national target.

But the region's Cancer Alliance is striving to increase the figure.

"There is still work to be done – with 32 per cent of people invited to complete their bowel cancer screening to reach," said a spokesperson.

"Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, but it can be successfully treated in more than nine out of ten people if diagnosed at the earliest stage. Early diagnosis saves lives."

Signs of bowel cancer can include bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo, a persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss, extreme tiredness for no obvious reason, or a pain or lump in your stomach.

For more information, visit nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer.