A High Court judge in London has approved a £37m compensation plan for hundreds of victims of disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson.

The figure will be paid to the many victims of the rogue surgeon after they suffered needless operations and were left fearing for their lives after he exaggerated or invented cancer risks.

Paterson, originally from Glasgow, was jailed for 20 years after he was found guilty in April at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent.

One patient described looking like a "car crash victim" after undergoing an unnecessary mastectomy, while another described a "significant deformity in her visible cleavage area" after a pair of needless operations on her left breast.

During his trial earlier in 2017, it also emerged that the rogue surgeon, who treated thousands of patients during his career also claimed payments for more expensive procedures than those he actually carried out.