Thousands of people with a devastating eye disease could have their sight saved by a drug being made available on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended the drug Lucentis after performing a U-turn on draft guidance published last year.

The final guidance, which applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will allow treatment of one type of AMD. The drug is already approved in Scotland.

The guidance rejects another drug - Macugen - as not cost-effective.

The move was welcomed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), which has campaigned for Lucentis for thousands of people with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and destroys the central region of the retina, the macula, leading to progressive loss of sight.

Andrew Dillon, Nice chief executive, said: "Lucentis is an expensive drug, costing more than £10,000 for each eye treated.

"But that cost needs to be balanced against the likely cost savings."

AMD results in reduced quality of life and increased risks of illness, particularly in relation to accidents - especially falls - and psychological ill-health, he pointed out.

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at the RNIB, welcomed the news and called on PCTs to implement the Nice guidance immediately.

He said: "We've been waiting for this for over two years.

"Finally the torment faced by elderly people forced to either spend their life savings on private treatment or go blind, is over.

"Nice's guidance will finally bring an end to a cruel postcode lottery."

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