A spray that can help to prevent men from peaking too soon during sexual intercourse has been developed by British doctors.

The treatment, when used five minutes beforehand, can reportedly extend a man's performance from as little as a matter of seconds to nearly four minutes.

If the clinical trials lead to the spray being made available on the open market, it could prove a godsend to the 40 per cent of British men thought to suffer from premature ejaculation.

Developed by doctors in Belfast, the spray was tested on 300 European men, all of whom suffered from the same affliction.

A total of 90 per cent reported a marked improvement in performance – with most grading the spray as "excellent".

Study leader Professor Wallace Dinsmore, of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, told the Sun: "The spray improved sexual performance and satisfaction and was well tolerated by both patients and their partners, with no systemic side effects."

The spray is in its last stage of clinical trials and could be launched in two years.

The development follows a report in the Journal of Urology suggesting thyroid drugs could also help men suffering from premature ejaculation.

Scientists in Turkey discovered that men with an overactive thyroid were much more likely to suffer problems in the bedroom.

They found that providing men with drug treatment to correct their thyroid problem improved their sexual performance in more than half of cases.

The research was the first to link the condition to an underlying clinical complaint.