The number of patients waiting four or more hours in accident and emergency units in England has reached a record high, leaked figures suggest.

January appears to have been the worst performing month for the NHS since the four-hour waiting target was introduced in 2013.

The figures also suggest that record numbers of people waited more than 12 hours for hospital beds once seen in A&E.

A national four-hour A&E target means 95pc of patients should be seen within four hours or admitted to a ward.

The figures come from a document compiled by NHS Improvement, a regulator in England.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the majority of patients were seen and treated quickly.

Waiting times in Norfolk's hospitals: Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

The latest monthly figures from NHS England show there were 2,151 people waiting for more than four hours at the N&N in December 2016.

That month, just 79.3pc of all A&E attendances were seen to within the four-hour target.

It had a total of 9,632 people attend its A&E type 1 department that month.

In December 2015, there were 730 fewer people waiting for more than four hours at the N&N's A&E unit. And 85pc of people were seen within four hours.

James Paget Hospital

The hospital also saw an increase in the number of people waiting for more than four hours in A&E.

In December 2016, the figure was 616, compared with 480 for that month in 2015.

Figures show 89.9pc of people waiting in A&E were seen within four hours, compared to 91.5pc in December 2015.

The total number of people attending its A&E type 1 department in December 2016 was 6,005.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

In December 2016 the hospital in King's Lynn had 348 people waiting more than four hours at A&E.

Meanwhile for the same month in 2015, there were 455 waiting.

Figures show 93pc of people waiting in A&E were seen within four hours in December 2016, compared with 90.6pc the year before.

The hospital had 4,970 people attend its A&E type 1 department in December 2016