Nearly 60 per cent of people who visited a diabetes roadshow in High Wycombe were found to be at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, just months after the BFP reported shocking new figures that revealed a surge in diabetes cases in south Bucks.

The Know Your Risk roadshow, delivered by Diabetes UK in partnership with Tesco on April 15 and 16, referred 105 people out of 185 who attended, to their GP surgery for further tests and support.

Earlier this year, the BFP reported that the Chiltern Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which oversees GP surgeries across south Bucks, has seen the second highest rise in the south east among its patients, with a 9.64 per cent increase over three years – compared to 5.93 per cent for England, according to figures from GP patient data by Diabetes UK.

An average of two people were diagnosed with diabetes every day in south Bucks in the last year, with 1,505 new cases since 2012.

Diabetes UK said these figures were a cause for “grave concern” with 13,950 people already being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the Chilterns – an increase of more than 12 per cent over the last three years.

Jill Steaton, Diabetes UK regional manager in the south east said: “We are very concerned that so many people in High Wycombe are at risk of Type 2 diabetes. This is a serious health condition that, left untreated or poorly managed, can lead to potential devastating complications such as blindness, amputation and stroke.

“The fact that the number of people living with Type 2 diabetes in the Chiltern area has increased is a clear sign that urgent action is needed to identify and tackle people’s risk of developing the condition.”

Joan Rodgers, 58, from Sunnycroft in High Wycombe, whose husband also has diabetes, was one of the people who found she was at risk with the condition.

She said: “I knew was overweight with a BMI of 41 and needed to lose around six stone but since my result at the Diabetes UK roadshow, I have become more focused and determined to walk three miles each day.

“I am desperate to avoid Type 2 diabetes as I have seen what my husband has been through.”

Unlike Type 1 diabetes which is not linked to lifestyle and cannot be prevented, key factors in developing Type 2 diabetes include being overweight and being of an ethnic background, especially African-Caribbean, Black African, Chinese or South Asian, according to the charity.

People over the age of 40, or over 25 if South Asian, and those who have a parent, child, brother or sister with diabetes are also more likely to develop the condition.

Ms Steaton said a “key step” to addressing the rising number is identifying those who are at risk of developing the condition and giving them the support they need to reduce that risk.

She added: “As many as three out of five cases of Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or even prevented through adopting a healthy lifestyle.”

There are four million people in the UK who have diabetes, of which 549,000 have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it as they have not yet been diagnosed. Diabetes UK says the crisis is "crippling" the NHS, with a £10 billion annual national spend managing the condition in patients.

Those who were unable to attend the roadshow can find out their risk of Type 2 diabetes online at diabetes.org.uk/knowyourrisk. For more information about diabetes, go to www.diabetes.org.uk.