THE gap in life expectancy between the prosperous parts of the county and the most deprived areas appears to be widening.

The latest figures suggests the well-off are adopting a healthier lifestyle while the poor are still drinking and smoking themselves into an early grave.

Burnley residents are 50 per cent more likely to die from heart disease before the age of 75 than the national average.

And death rates from smoking in Hyndburn are 50 per cent higher than those in Fylde.

Furthermore, people in the Ribble Valley now live 4.3 years longer than those in the unhealthiest wards in Burnley and five-and-a-half years more than their counterparts in Accrington.

An independent watchdog has warned that action needs to be taken to tackle these alarming statistics.

The Audit Commission said: “People living in Preston and the East Lancashire districts of Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn and Rossendale have much poorer health than the rest of Lancashire, or the country as a whole.”

Health chiefs at NHS East Lancashire have accepted they “must try harder” to tackle links between poor health and housing problems and lack of employment.

They have already launched the Save A Million Lives campaign and appointed six neighbourhood health workers.

Let us hope these initiatives help raise awareness and, ultimately, save more lives.