Cholesterol-busting drugs are already being prescribed to Bradford and Airedale patients at risk of heart disease - ahead of the rest of the country.

Health bosses in the district have pre-empted a decision by the National Council for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) which yesterday gave a green light to all doctors to prescribe statins to at-risk patients.

Previously they had only been prescribed to those with heart disease or those at an extremely high risk.

Statins lower the level of bad cholesterol in the blood which at high levels can lead to clotting. Heart attacks and strokes may result. An estimated 238,000 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease in 2002, making it the single biggest killer in the UK.

Bradford district Primary Care Trusts have already given doctors the go-ahead and the money to make sure that everyone who needs the drugs gets them in a bid to slash deaths.

A spokesman for Bradford and Airedale PCTs said: "Patients across Bradford and Airedale who are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease are already being prescribed statins, alongside important advice on lifestyle and diet changes, to help prevent heart disease and stroke. The prevalence of conditions such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes in the district have led to a significant increase in the use of these drugs as an effective preventative measure.

"The PCTs have budgeted for the increased prescribing costs which overall are outweighed by treating more people in primary care and cutting their risk of needing operations due to heart disease."

Nice said statins should be prescribed when a patient faces a 20 per cent or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years.

Nice, which vets new NHS treatments in England and Wales, also recommended the use of statins when there is clinical evidence of a person already having heart disease.

Nice looked at five different statins currently licensed in the UK - atorvastatin, fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin. Only one of these, simvastatin, is available over the pharmacy counter in a low 10mg dose.

Professor David Barnett, who chaired the committee that developed the new advice, said: "This guidance is arguably one of the most significant to have come out of Nice since it started over six years ago.

"We estimate that around 3.3 million people will become eligible for statin therapy as a result of these recommendations, which offer clear guidance about which patients should be started on treatment with a statin and how doctors should go about it."