The number of British athletes failing steroid drug tests has increased by 75 per cent and is now larger than ever, the UK Sports Council said yesterday. Michele Verroken, director of ethics and anti-doping at the Sports Council, told BBC radio that the number of steroid cases had increased over the last year from 15 to 27 cases anabolic steroid use, although the total number of drug findings had remained steady.

She said the findings showed that some people appeared to be using drugs even on the day of a competition.

The vast majority of the findings came from powerlifting and weightlifting.

If athletes felt they could take the drugs because of an insufficient testing programme, sport must look carefully at how it deterred people from taking drugs, she said.

"If we are reducing penalties, as appears to be the trend, then the sports federations may have to ask their athletes what really will stop this misuse among the few," she added.