Thousands of women are missing out on a potentially life-saving test for cervical cancer, it has emerged.

Following a rush for smear tests following the death of reality TV star Jade Goody in 2009, numbers appear to be dropping off.

Latest figures show that of the 246,600 women eligible for tests in Leicestershire in 2009/10, more than 46,500 – almost a fifth – did not take up the offer.

This is down by more than 1,500 on the previous year.

At the start of the national cervical cancer screening week, mum-of-two Lynette Leman, from Earl Shilton, is encouraging women to take the test.

Lynette was 35 when a routine smear test picked up abnormal cells. They were removed in an operation at Leicester Royal Infirmary. She now has annual check-ups.

Lynette, now 42, said: "The screening is a couple of minutes of discomfort but it is a couple of minutes which could save your life. It was seven years ago when my routine smear showed there were some abnormal cells.

"These are cells which could turn cancerous but they were removed before this happened. If it is caught early enough it is an abnormality, it isn't cancer.

"I have to have an annual test for 10 years. So far, every one has been clear and I just regard it as a sort of MOT. When the letter arrives, I immediately ring my GP and make an appointment and then when the result comes back I feel I am all clear for another year."

Women aged between 25 and 64 are invited for routine screening.

In the year 2009/10, 63,710 of 83,500 eligible women in the city were screened – a take-up rate of 76.3 per cent. This was down slightly from 2008/09, when 62,750 of 81,600 eligible women, some 76.9 per cent, had the test.

In the county and Rutland in 2009/10, 136,351 of 163,100 eligible women were screened – a take-up rate of 83.6 per cent.

This was also down on the previous year, when 162,600 women were eligible and 136,421 – 83.9 per cent – had the test.

Dr Sue Ellerby, deputy director of public health for the NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, said: "Cervical screening is a method of preventing cancer by detecting and treating early abnormalities which, if left untreated, could lead to cancer in a woman's cervix.

"It is estimated that early detection and treatment can prevent 75 per cent of cancers developing. It is important for women to ensure that they are registered with a GP.

"One reason why women may not attend is that when they leave the area, many do not change their GP registration details."