THE plight of Coronation Street cervical cancer victim Alma Baldwin has prompted more East Lancashire women to take smear tests, it was revealed today.

The disease became terminal for the character after she missed a doctor's appointment that would have spotted the disease in its infancy.

But while the Street will be soon without one of its stars, the lives of women across the region could be saved thanks to the feelings the story aroused.

A spokesman for Blackburn Royal Infirmary and Queen's Park Hospitals said there had been an increase in the number of people seeking smear tests since the storyline.

And Chris Allen, a spokesman for Burnley General Hospital said : "We have noticed that there has been a better take-up rate and response to our letters over the past few weeks."

A spokesperson for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund said: "We welcome news that more women are coming forward for smear tests following Alma's story in Coronation Street.

"Since smear tests were invented, the number of women contracting cervical cancer has gone down, and survival rates have gone up."

The disease kills 2,500 women each year. The British Medical Association recommends screening every five years for over 35s, and every three for under 35s -- but many women avoid the tests because they worried or embarrassed.

Latest figures show 84% of women in Burnley had smear tests and 85% in Blackburn.