County life expectancy figures revealed

Women in Bridgnorth and men in south Shropshire have the longest life expectancy of anywhere in the county, according to new figures.

But women in north Shropshire and men in Shrewsbury and Atcham are not so lucky.

They are expected to die the youngest, while the outlook for north Shropshire men is not too rosy as they are given just an extra four months on their male counterparts in Shrewsbury.

The annual number of deaths in the county is also rising in the long-term, data produced by the Office for National Statistics shows.

Experts say this may reflect the baby boomers of the First World War reaching ages of 70 or over and the baby boomers of the Second World War reaching retirement age.

Shropshire also has an age structure weighted towards the older age groups, which may explain the rise in the number of deaths.

According to the statistics, which have been interpreted by Shropshire County Council's sustainability group, a female born between 2005 and 2007 in Bridgnorth can expect to live for 83 years and two months.

But a female born just miles away in north Shropshire is expected to die a year earlier. Men in Shrewsbury have the lowest life expectancy for their gender in Shropshire, at 77 years and eight months. North Shropshire men are the second lowest at 78 years.

The picture is slightly better for males in south Shropshire who can expect to live until 80 years and 1 month - the 20th best in the country based on 374 local authority areas in England and Wales.

However, all of the figures still place all Shropshire folk among the top half in the country for those expected to live the longest.

A spokeswoman for the sustainability group said: "In Shropshire women are predicted to live longer than men. Life expectancy at birth in 2005 to 2007 in Shropshire is 78.4 years for men and 82.7 years for women; ranked within 41 counties, Shropshire's male life expectancy at birth is ranked 20th and female life expectancy ranked 16."

She said life expectancy at birth in 2005 to 2007 in the UK was 77.3 years for males and 81.5 years for females.

By Russell Roberts