Diabetes testing in Hounslow is among the worst in south east England, according to experts.

Nearly 1,700 people in the borough risk going blind or losing a limb because they are unaware they have the disease, figures from national charity Diabetes UK reveal - and campaigners in Hounslow claim the real figure could be much higher because of the number of residents from ethnic minorities.

Hounslow was in the worst third performing boroughs in the south eastwhen it came to diagnosing the disease. But it did better than many of its London neighbours, including Kensington & Chelsea, where more than 3,900 people are estimated to be undiagnosed.

David Cahill, chairman of Diabetes UK Hounslow, believes up to 6,000 people in the borough with diabetes have yet to be diagnosed and has called on health chiefs to improve testing.

"We're aware that with a larger than usual population with ethnic minority origins it makes our population more likely to have diabetes," he said.

He added that his group was going all out to persuade people to have simple tests with their GP, including sending out a 'battle bus' to Gunnersbury Park to offer people a quick check in a mobile laboratory.

Diabetes UK Hounslow runs information desks at West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth every Tuesday from 9.30am to 12.30pm and at the Heart of Hounslow Health Centre in Bath Road, Hounslow, every Thursday from 1pm to 4pm.