A hospital in Chelmsford will become the first in Essex to introduce a treatment for haemorrhoids.

The Rafaelo Procedure is being administered to patients at The Chelmsford Private Day Surgery Hospital, which uses radio frequency technology to treat the affected area.

Developed in Poland by Dr Tomasz Klos and has treated more than 2,000 patients in a three year period.

The procedure is usually performed under local anaesthetic, but surgery for serious cases is performed under general anaesthetic and can result in a patient taking up to four weeks away from work.

Also known and piles, it is estimated that haemorrhoids affect up to 75 per cent of adults in the UK at some point in their lives and cost around £2 million in incapacity benefits each year.

Mr Thomas Pearson, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at The Chelmsford, said: "This procedure has a record of clinically proven positive results and high patient satisfaction.

"Haemorrhoids are still a taboo subject in today's society and are often a source of embarrassment, which shouldn't be the case given that up to three quarters of all adults in the UK suffer with them at some point in their lives.

"There is no need to suffer in silence, the Rafaelo Procedure is a relatively simple treatment which significantly changes the lives of many people for the better."

Piles are caused by a deterioration of blood vessel-rich spongy cushions inside the rectum and can be a result of chronic diarrhoea, constipation, obesity, low fibre diet or genetics.

They cause long standing and intrusive symptoms, often going untreated for years.