People going through fertility treatment will be able to freeze embryos, eggs and sperm for an extra two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers do not want patients to be “unfairly caught out” after procedures were paused earlier this month due to Covid-19.

Current storage limits are 10 years, at which point people must decide if they want to undergo fertility treatment, or have their frozen eggs, sperm and embryos destroyed.

These time limits will be extended for to give time for treatments to resume, the Department of Health said.

Health minister Lord Bethell said: “Many people rely on fertility treatment as their only hope to start a family and the current pandemic means some will have to put their hopes on hold.

“We are taking steps to ensure during these extraordinary times those that have embryos, sperm or eggs stored as part of their treatment are not unfairly caught out by the existing storage limits and have the best possible opportunity to start their family in the future.”