It is claimed that the drug, Alimta, improves the quality of life for sufferers in the final stages of mesothelioma – a form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Use of the chemical in heavy industries such as shipbuilding has made the North East a black spot for the disease.

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) – the body which rules on which drugs are permitted for use by the National Health Service – had decided to make the drug available on the NHS.

Guidance for the drug was finally announced in July, after a two-year campaign, backed by the North East-based Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund (MKMRF) and Thompsons Solicitors of Newcastle, which acts for hundreds of victims and families.

But the move has been put on ice after two appeals were lodged against the decision.

Chris Knighton, who founded the research fund in memory of her husband Mick, said: "This is astounding news.

"We were at the point where mesothelioma patients would have a right to receive this important drug on the NHS and now it feels like we are back to square one."

Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons Solicitors, said: "The last thing people suffering from this terrible illness need is more uncertainty.

"They are going through hell as it is and should be entitled to know what treatment is available to them."

More than 2,000 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma, which often leaves them with only months to live.