A cancer patient was the first in Oxford to receive new cutting-edge treatment after NHS England expanded access to the potentially life-saving therapy.

The CAR-T therapy for people with certain forms of blood cancer was given to Stephen Milton, 29, whose own immune cells were used to create a tailored treatment.

Treatment is described as highly complex and potentially risky but shown to cure patients in some trials, even with quite advanced cancers where available alternatives have failed.

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Mr Milton, who is a horse racing bookmaker from Aylesbury, received treatment for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and he said: "My body wasn't responding to even aggressive chemotherapy so they suggested CAR-T.

"So far, I am doing well and I will have more tests.

"I know it's a rare treatment so I was glad to get it.

"All the medical staff have been brilliant."

Blood cancer patients tend to have a poor prognosis and generally do not survive very long.

The new service is expected to deliver potentially life-saving treatment to at least 20-30 patients each year.

Four patients have now been cared for with this new therapy at Oxford University Hospitals.

Professor Graham Collins, consultant haematologist and lymphoma lead for Oxford University Hospitals, added: "The development of CAR T-cell therapy in Oxford is vital to optimise the outcomes of patients with different types of blood cancer.

"The OUH and NHSBT collaboration enables us to deliver comprehensive care to blood cancer patients closer to home."