Rachel Gilmour, the MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has called on the NHS to be made the top priority at the upcoming budget.

It comes after recent figures showed that both the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset NHS Trust failed to meet their cancer targets in August.

The NHS aims to start treatment for 85 per cent of cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent referral.

However, in August, only 71.3 per cent of patients at the Royal Devon University NHS Foundation Trust and 72 per cent at the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust were treated within this timeframe.

This means that last month, 113 cancer patients in Devon and 92 in Somerset did not receive treatment within the standard 62-day window.

Ms Gilmour said that these missed targets are a result of the previous Conservative government’s "legacy of failure" on local health services.

She said: "Being diagnosed with cancer is one of the worst experiences someone can go through.

"Sadly, I have heard far too many stories from people here in Tiverton and Minehead that they simply are not getting the care they need when this happens.

"The previous Conservative government’s legacy of failure on the NHS cannot be overstated.

"They left local health services in our area to crumble and patients without the care that they deserve."

Ms Gilmour is now urging the new government to focus on restoring the NHS to its former state: "I will be pushing the new government every step of the way to make sure that they rise to the challenge of clearing up this mess and rescuing local health services here in Tiverton and Minehead.

"That must start by making the NHS the top priority at the budget."