Henry Bodkin .

Sex addiction should be recognised as a medical condition and treated on the NHS, charities have said.

Groups providing support for those addicted to sex say they have seen a fourfold increase in people seeking help in the last decade and that treatment should be provided free on the health service.

Currently NHS guidance states that experts disagree over whether it is possible to become addicted to sex and refers patients to voluntary organisations for help.

However, the new calls come as the World Health Organisation is expected to approve the inclusion of “compulsive sexual behaviour disorder” in its list of International Classification of Disease later this month.

Peter Saddington, a therapist at Relate, the UK’s largest relationship support charity, said: “Addicts realise it is causing harm, but they can’t stop and they recognise they need help in changing it.

“For Alcoholics Anonymous, but they can also go to the NHS which provides support for people who have alcohol or drug problems.”

Relate defines sexual addiction as any sexual activity that feels "out of control".

A questionnaire completed by 21,058 people since 2013 on the Sex Addiction Help website revealed 91 per cent of those seeking help for sex addiction were male.

The largest age group of 31 per cent was aged 26 to 35, 1 per cent were under 16 and 8 per cent over 55.

Paula Hall,  who founded the Association for the Treatment of Sex Addiction and Compulsivity, said: “I think there certainly needs to be more free services.

“You can get self-help resources online but in terms of getting professional input, there needs to be more services developed by the NHS."

She told the BBC the number of “sex addicts” visiting the Laurel Centre, where she is now clinical director, had quadrupled in the last ten years.

Recent calls to classify sex addicts as 'mentally ill' have triggered a row among doctors and campaigners helping victims of predators like Harvey Weinstein.

In January eleven senior specialists wrote a letter to the World Psychiatric Association pressing for compulsive sexual behaviour to be recognised as a mental disorder in its own right.

But the proposal was last night condemned by those who fear it will allow sexual misconduct to be blamed on a medical condition.

Both Weinstein and Kevin Spacey have stated they are seeking treatment of sex addiction since allegations of sexual misconduct.

The charity End Violence Against Women said it had concerns about any move that may appear to condone harmful sexual behaviour.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “People who think they may have a sex addiction can seek advice and help via NHS Choices, which includes contacts at Relate, Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity."

Some sex and relationship experts believe it is possible to become addicted to the enjoyable feeling, or “high”, during sexual activity, however others disagree.

telegraph