Plans to rebuild two Lancashire hospitals revealed

The new hospital sites would be situated within 10 miles of the current facilities

Two hospitals in Lancashire could be rebuilt under plans to bring "much-needed investment" into the area.

NHS trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria have revealed its preferred option to rebuild Royal Preston Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Work is under way to find potential sites within 10 miles of the existing hospitals.

NHS chiefs hope the plans will be funded under the government's £3.7bn pledge to build 48 hospitals by 2030.

The Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England would be required to approve any plans, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The proposals will be subject to a public consultation

A number of options have been considered to improve the medical facilities including refurbishing the existing hospitals.

But Rebecca Malin, Lancashire and South Cumbria New Hospitals programme project director, said the preferred option would mean "absolutely state-of-the-art new buildings".

Kevin McGee, chief executive of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the Royal Preston Hospital, said the new hospitals "would be truly transformational".

Aaron Cummins, chief executive of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said it would be a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to bring new facilities and "much-needed investment" into the area.