The number of people waiting for an NHS operation in England has fallen to its lowest level in 17 years, the Government said yesterday.

The Department of Health said that the total waiting list stood at 813,700 at the end of July - the lowest since data was first collected in the current way in September 1988.

This is a drop of 10,200 since June, a fall of 59,900 since July last year and a decrease of 344,000 since March 1997. The figures also showed that only 15 patients were waiting longer than nine months for their operation, with two of these waiting more than a year.

At the end of July, there were 40,700 patients waiting over six months - a drop of 2,500 from June.

Ministers have pledged that, by December, no patient in England will wait longer than six months for surgery.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "This is more evidence of real progress.

"The NHS is working hard to make sure patients have the fastest possible access to treatment.

"The average wait is currently eight weeks and, by the end of the year, the longest anyone will wait for an operation will be six months.

"But we know there is more to do. That is why, for the first time in the history of the NHS, we are tackling the hidden waits.

"This is being done through massive extra investment in diagnostic capacity and the introduction a choice of hospital to have your scan."

The spokesman added: ''In addition to this, by 2008, no one will wait longer than 18 weeks from GP appointment to operation. This is a challenging target, but one which is essential to securing further improvements to patient care."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said: "These waiting list figures do not tell the whole story.

"Patients waiting months for a diagnosis will greet these statistics with disbelief. Thousands of patients are stuck on hidden waiting lists hanging on for months, or even years, before they get a diagnosis and get on the official list.

"The Government has an awfully long way to go before waiting times are at acceptable levels."

He added that cancelled operations had risen by 30 per cent under Labour.

"It is very distressing for a patient to get ready for their operation only to have it cancelled on the day," he said