Older workers are seeking cosmetic procedures in a bid to help them compete with their younger counterparts, it has been claimed.

Figures from the Harley Medical Group show that bookings for cosmetic surgery among 45 to 65-year-olds doubled in 2008, while demand for botox rose by 51 per cent.

Staff at the company's 23 clinics believe that the credit crunch is behind much of the increased demand, as older workers are keen to look as young as the people they are in competition for jobs with.

Director Liz Dale claimed that people want to stay "one step ahead of their colleagues" and that office competition acts as a "catalyst" for people who have actually been considering cosmetic surgery for many years.

"It's not just older patients who cite this as a reason - many of our patients at the City clinic, especially men, are using cosmetic treatments such as botox to take years off their looks, giving them increased confidence and, they feel, an edge to their looks," she revealed.

A cosmetic surgery clinic in Los Angeles recently told Bloomberg that the previous number one procedure, breast augmentation, has been knocked down the scale by a flurry of demand for botox.