More young women in Medway are skipping their smear tests every year and doctors fear this is now leading to a rise in cervical cancer.

Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre has revealed that women aged 25 to 29 are the least likely to have the test and the number doing so is falling each year.

It is the most common cancer in women under 35 but a quarter of women in Medway do not attend their screenings.

In Medway, 24.4% of women aged 25 to 64, and 25.9% of those aged 25 to 49, had not been recently checked by March 2015.

According to NHS England, surveys undertaken by cancer charities show embarrassment and a lack of understanding about the causes of the disease could be behind the fall in numbers.

Dr Alison Milroy from NHS England said: “We have noticed a fall in attendance of younger women over the past few years and worryingly, this decline is now linked to showing a rise in the incidence of cervical cancer in women under 35.

“It is vital for young women to understand the importance of attending their cervical screening. This test can detect pre-cancer abnormalities, which if left untreated, may develop into cancer. Screening is for people without symptoms as a preventative measure.”

The number of people who die from the disease has halved over the last 27 years yet 3,000 women are still diagnosed with it every year.

NHS England says that the majority of women diagnosed had delayed making appointments and attending their screenings which meant that the early changes were unable to be identified and treated.

Dr Milroy added: “The screening test is relatively simple, takes about 10 minutes and is usually performed by the practice nurse at your local GP surgery and 95% of results will be normal.

“Of those that are not, the vast majority can be treated very easily and will never develop in to cancer.”

The disease is largely preventable with the cervical screening test, also known as a smear test, and a vaccination programme.

Cervical screening is offered to all women aged 25 to 64, with those aged 25 to 49 screened every three years and women aged 50 to 64 screened every five years.

Girls are given a vaccination against human papilloma viruses (HPV) when they are 12 and 13 – some of the viruses can increase the risk of cervical cancer.