A research team in Britain has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time, reports the Guardian newspaper.

Researchers have said that animal tests will be carried out later on this year, and if successful, it is entirely possible that replacement tissue could be "grown" to be used in transplants from people suffering from heart disease.

The team behind the research have indicated that the new technology, which brings hope to thousands suffering from heart disease in the UK, may be available within three years if things go well.

Leading heart surgeon professor Magdi Yacoub, who is heading the research team at Harefield hospital, has told how tissue has been grown that works in the same way as the valves in human hearts, according to the newspaper.

The group is reported to have so far spent 10 years trying to characterise how every part of the human heart works, it said.

According to Yacoub, latest work had brought forward the goal of growing a whole, beating human heart. He said in the newspaper: "It is an ambitious project but not impossible. If you want me to guess I'd say 10 years. But experience has shown that the progress that is happening nowadays makes it possible to achieve milestones in a shorter time. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some day sooner than we think."

The report is due to be published in a special edition of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society journal.