By Sylvia Westall

LONDON, Mar 3 (Reuters) Couples in England seeking help with conception in face a postcode ''lottery'' for fertility treatment based on where they live, a report said yesterday.

The Department of Health recommends that women aged between 23 and 39 should be offered one free cycle of treatment.

However, the report, compiled by Conservative MP George Shapps, yesterday said some areas had introduced age limits, while others have ended treatment completely.

It criticised the ''entirely arbitrary borders that decide which couples can start a family and which couples cannot.'' Shapps, whose own three children were conceived through IVF, collected data from three-quarters of England's 114 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).

The report showed that cash-poor North Staffordshire was forced to stop all fertility care in December, while Stoke-on-Trent has put a hold on treatment for a year.

Elsewhere in the country, the report found areas where only women under 35 could receive treatment, with other areas specifying that only those aged between 36 and 39 should be given help to conceive.

The report also showed that half of the PCTs were offering couples free treatment even if either partner had a child from a previous relationship.

National guidelines recommend that couples without children should be at the front of the queue for treatment.

Commenting on the report, Health Minister Caroline Flint said: ''The NHS budget is at record levels thanks to unprecedented investment. PCTs hold the majority of this budget and they must make their own decisions about which treatments to fund.'' ''We recognise that infertility causes pain and distress ...

so it is important that infertile couples have access to IVF regardless of where they live.'' REUTERS PDM HT0932