A city daily has launched a front page plea for more women on its patch to undergo potentially life-saving screenings.

The Glasgow Times has launched the ‘Don’t Fear the Smear’ campaign in a bid to tackle a “staggeringly low” uptake of cervical screening tests across the city.

Each day two women in the UK die as a result of cervical cancer, which is the most common form of the disease in women under 35 in Scotland.

But in Glasgow just 65.4pc of eligible people take up the offer to attend.

The Times splashed on the campaign’s launch on Tuesday, pictured above.

Stacey Mullen, editor of the Times, told HTFP: “It is a privilege to be the first female editor of the Glasgow Times and it is an honour which comes with huge responsibility.

“I’m delighted to launch this campaign to help in the fight against a cruel disease which could be eradicated if we all worked together.

“It struck a chord with me recently how delighted the nurse was that I showed up for my smear test. She couldn’t believe it and thanked me for overcoming my fear.

“It’s not nice, it can be uncomfortable but when we have access to this important screening we should grab it with both hands.

“Our newsroom is made of mostly female staff. Women who are bright, full of life and have a wonderful future ahead of them.

“I’m sure you all know women who are similar and it’s important that we safeguard that future in any way we can. Don’t fear the smear.”