Jeremy Clarkson has sidestepped the potentially devastating side effects of prostate cancer surgery after receiving the same cutting-edge treatment as former prime minister David Cameron. The TV presenter and farmer revealed he underwent Lord Cameron's highly targeted focal therapy, which helps to prevent nasty side effects such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.

Clarkson, 66, disclosed on his TV programme Clarkson's Farm last week that he had been diagnosed with "aggressive" prostate cancer in May last year, though it was detected early. He told The Sunday Times that it "could have spread" and "that would have been trouble". He underwent treatment in London last August, although it remains unclear whether he received high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) at an NHS or private hospital. The procedure uses sound waves to destroy the cancer.

On his Amazon Prime programme, Clarkson explained to Kaleb Cooper, 27, manager of his Oxfordshire farm Diddly Squat: "You know the prostate – 10 per cent of it is dead, the 10 per cent where the cancer is.

"They use ultrasound. Have you ever got a magnifying glass on a piece of paper on a sunny day? They do that but with sound waves. They direct them onto the cancer and blitz it."

Lord Cameron, 59, and Conservative peer Sir Graham Brady, also 59, both had their cancer treated with focal therapy.

It employs high-frequency sound waves, cold gases via needle-thin probes or electrical pulses to generate heat or cold to destroy cancerous cells.

Rather than removing or irradiating the entire prostate, as occurs with surgery or radiotherapy, focal therapies target only the cancerous region, preserving as much healthy tissue as possible.

A prostate cancer charity has now urged for the minimally invasive technique, suitable for treating up to 17,000 men annually, to be rolled out across the NHS. Currently, only seven NHS hospitals across London and the South East provide the treatment, which benefits men with early-stage prostate cancer.

It is estimated more than 500,000 men are living with prostate cancer – and unlike breast, bowel and lung cancer, there is no national screening programme.

Of the 63,000 diagnosed annually more than 12,000 will die because it wasn't spotted early enough.