Patients are to take part in a new trial which aims to test how effective maggots are in treating conditions such as leg ulcers, health chiefs said today.

Maggots were previously used as a treatment for a number of centuries, but were phased out with the introduction of antibiotics around 80 years ago.

But a new three-year trial by the University of York, which will be funded by the NHS, is to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of larval therapy with more conventional treatment.

Today, a patient will undergo the larval therapy treatment at the York NHS Walk-in Centre at Monkgate in the city centre.

Trial co-ordinator Dr Pauline Raynor said: ''Patients will have the chance to take part in an exciting study which will find out whether maggots really do heal ulcers more quickly.

''We need a total of 600 patients to come forward to take part in this important research.

''Of the people who have volunteered so far, squeamishness does not appear to be an issue at all.''

The £750,000 trial aims to help reduce the annual £600 million cost to the NHS of treating leg ulcers which affect 1% of the UK population.

The study will use the principle that maggots eat dead tissue, thus cleaning wounds, and will involve a third of patients being treated with loose sterile maggots, a third with sterile maggots in a bag and the remainder will be given the standard treatment of hydrogel.

Dr Raynor said: ''The trial will compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of larval therapy with the more conventional treatment, as well as the effect on patients' quality of life over a period of one year.''

The university's department of health sciences is running the trial in partnership with 21 health trusts in England and Northern Ireland and will assess the effectiveness of the larvae of a species of greenbottle fly in cleaning leg ulcers.

Anyone wanting further information on how they can take part in the project should call 080 0138 3461.