Scientists at Oxford University have been forced to suspend diabetes research after the worldwide withdrawal of a drug used in the study.

Staff at the Diabetes Trials Unit, based at the Radcliffe Infirmary, were using Baycol, a cholesterol-lowering drug, to assess its role in preventing heart disease - the most common cause of death amongst diabetics.

Led by Prof Rury Holman, the team has spent two years recruiting 4,000 patients at 30 hospitals throughout the UK and were expected to spend another five years studying volunteers' progress.

However, German pharmaceutical company Bayer, the manufacturer of Baycol, has recalled the drug after it was linked to 31 deaths and reportedly left patients suffering with tiredness, nausea, spasms, fevers and vomiting.

The deaths occurred when Baycol was taken with Gemfibrozil, another drug prescribed for heart patients.

Prof Holman said: "This is a major blow.

"The trial would have informed us whether people with diabetes should be treated with this drug as a preventative measure."

The Oxford University trial centred around type two diabetes, commonly diagnosed in later life and not treated with insulin injections.

Type two diabetics are two to four times more likely to suffer from heart disease than non-diabetics.