PATIENTS in Bolton are dying after contracting a superbug which is resistant to antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is on the increase in the town with doctors at the Royal Bolton Hospital seeing 10 patients a week whom they are powerless to treat.

The BEN can reveal tonight that some patients have died but figures on exactly how many have not been compiled.

Dr Roger Farrand, medical microbiologist at the hospital, said: "There is a fear that in time antibiotics just won't work.

"There have been deaths in Bolton when people are unable to take antibiotics because they have developed a resistance to them. These have so far only been a few. But it is an area which is very worrying."

People who have just had surgery, in particular implants such as hip replacements, could be vulnerable to the potential killer.

Diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, which were once lethal, are no longer the threat that they were.

But, over time, bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics.

Dr Farrand said: "There is a danger that GPs are over-prescribing, believing they are doing their best for their patients.

"But if people have too much then they could easily become resistant. Then it becomes very difficult to fight off an infection."

The Government is drawing up a league table of hospitals, pinpointing the modern superbug phenomenon. But the results will not be published until next summer.

Fears that Bolton could return to the pre-antibiotic era have been voiced by Dr Farrand.

And Health Minister Lord Philip Hunt said: "A number of antibiotics are used for treatment of simple infections which are caused by viruses, not influenced by antibiotics.

"There is a need to reduce this inappropriate use. Controlling the spread of these resistant organisms both around hospitals and the community is another major challenge.

"Antibiotic resistance is everybody's problem and will need a concerted and long-term strategy if we are not to return to the pre-antibiotic era."