Cosmetic Underclass — those who can't afford plastic surgery and are thus forced to forever look their age.

Gus McGrouther, Britain's first professor of plastic surgery, warns that we are in danger of creating a "cosmetic underclass'', a lumpen mass of self-loathing, ordinary-looking people who avoid surgical enhancement for fear of the knife, or silicone poisoning, and lose out as a result.

In a world which has created a "new cosmetic underclass", plastic surgery should have the same moral value as treating heart disease, Britain's first professor of plastic surgery said yesterday.