HEALTH chiefs last night angrily denied MPs' claims that equipment at one of the North-East's biggest hospitals is "past its sell-by date" and could be putting lives at risk.

One of the three Magentic Resonance Imaging scanners at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough is ten years old.

Experts at the Royal College of Radiologists recommend a maximum age of seven years for MRI scanners.

And the Commission for Health Improvement - a patients' watchdog - states that older scanners "do not work efficiently".

Officials at the hospital admit that the scanner will have to soldier on for at least two more years despite claims that the older they become the more unreliable they can be.

However, they vehemently rejected suggestions that it cannot be relied upon, insisting that the equipment is well maintained.

According to Department of Health figures, almost one third of MRI scanners in the NHS are past their "sell-by date".

The South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust - which runs the James Cook hospital and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire - is among 11 hospitals which have MRI scanners that are ten years old.

The oldest, at North Middlesex University Hospital, dates back to 1988.

The revelation will come as an embarrassment to NHS officials who hailed James Cook as the region's "super hospital" after a £165m privately- funded revamp.

Patients from throughout County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire are referred to the hospital for specialist treatment.

The row broke out after the Liberal Democrats launched a probe into the state of the UK's MRI scanners.

Paul Burstow, the party's newly-appointed health spokesman, said: "Out-of-date equipment threatens to undermine the quality of care given by doctors and nurses.

"Creaking scanners must not be allowed to put patient health at risk. This is unacceptable in the NHS of the 21st Century."

He added: "Years of under-funding under the Tories and Labour have left doctors and nurses trying to cope with breakdowns and shortages in cancer care equipment."

Mr Burstow accused the Government of "interfering" by bombarding hospitals with targets. It meant hospital chiefs did not plan properly for when equipment needed replacing.

He also claimed that money intended to be spent on new equipment was being diverted into paying off the debts of NHS trusts.

A spokeswoman for the South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed that one scanner was ten years old this year. She said: "It is one of the three. It has been regularly maintained and tested.

"The scanner is due for replacement in 2005. Clearly no hospital would use equipment that isn't safe or reliable."

MRI uses strong magnetic fields and pulsed electromagnetic waves to detect cancers. It offers the significant advantage of not using radiation.

Recent technological developments mean that MRI is being used increasingly in the assessment of cancer patients and to create images of blood vessels.

As part of its expansion, the James Cook hospital took delivery of its third MRI scanner, one of the most advanced in Europe.

The new scanner allows surgeons to penetrate deep into the brain and carry out a wide range of repairs and preventative measures via the arterial system without the need for conventional surgery.