A Surbiton woman who died of cervical cancer aged just 25 felt she was "fobbed off" by GPs despite her worrying symptoms, the High Court has heard.

Sophie Hague died at home in November 2011 after enduring a hysterectomy, two unsuccessful cycles of chemo-radiotherapy and emergency surgery from which she never recovered.

Her mother Suzanne and fiancé David Rich claim there was an inappropriate delay in diagnosing Ms Hague, who visited Langley Medical Practice in November 2009 and February 2010 complaining of pain and bleeding but was not physically examined on either occasion or referred.

Ms Hague was not diagnosed until June 2010, after she told her mother she felt "fobbed off" by Dr John Dalzell and Dr Daniel Fish and a scan was arranged.

Yesterday at the court sitting in London, the family's counsel Adam Korn told Mr Justice Lewis it was alleged the GPs wrongly and negligently failed to take Ms Hague's complaints seriously enough and make an onward referral for specialist diagnosis and treatment.

"Such referral would have led to early surgery and, on the balance of probabilities, it would have led to Sophie being cured of her disease."

Mr Korn said both doctors had admitted breach of duty and it was accepted Ms Hague should have had a pelvic examination.

But, there was a dispute between experts for both sides as to legal causation, with the defence contending that earlier diagnosis and treatment would have made no difference to the outcome.

The defence case was that the tumour was so aggressive that Ms Hague would have died whenever surgery was performed.

While the family's experts did not dispute that the tumour was highly aggressive, they maintained that, if caught early enough, the prognosis was positive.

Mr Korn said the sole issue for the judge was whether or not, on the balance of probabilities, Ms Hague would have lived if the GPs had treated her appropriately and she had gone to surgery earlier.

He told the judge: "We say that, if she had, we are talking about a complete cure - five years, ten years, and thereafter the prognosis of the population in general."

At the start of the three-day hearing, the judge told members of Ms Hague's family sitting in court: "No-one is unaware of the huge tragedy that has happened here, whatever the legal rights and wrongs."

The hearing continues.