This year’s flu season started earlier than usual and is yet to reach a peak.

The number of people in hospital with flu in England is at a record level for this time of year, as health officials warned the NHS is bracing itself for an “unprecedent wave” of infections.

An average of 1,717 flu patients were in beds in England each day last week, including 69 in critical care, according to the first of this year’s NHS winter situation reports.

This is 56% higher than the equivalent numbers for the same week in 2024, when the total was 1,098 with 39 in critical care.

It is also well above levels seen at this point in both 2023 (243 patients) and 2022 (772).

Flu numbers peaked last winter at 5,408 patients in early January – the highest weekly figure recorded since the Covid-19 pandemic.

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