PEOPLE living in the poorest parts of England can expect 16 more years of bad health than those in the richest, it was revealed yesterday.

The average difference between those living in the most and least deprived parts of England was 16.7 years for men and 16.8 years for women.

Women on average live in good health to the age of 65 while men can expect to be hale and hearty until 64 according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But there is wide variation depending on where people live, even if the different socio-economic groups are in the same council area.

In Middlesbrough healthy life expectancy overall is low for both men (58.6 years) and women (60.1), but it also has high levels of inequality between the richest and poorest areas of town — a 21-year gap between rich and poor men and 20 for women.