Town linking long life to gardening

It's known as Shropshire's little Switzerland. Nestled in the hills and swathed in fresh air - Church Stretton simply oozes healthiness.

Now the residents of Church Stretton have been revealed as having the fourth highest life expectancy of any town in the UK. And they are putting their longevity down to not just eating their greens, but growing them too. The town came in behind Montacute, Somerset, Brockenhurst in Hampshire and Aldeburgh in Suffolk.

It comes after a national study of three million pension records.

On average, the 680 residents of Montacute will live until at least 90, according to research by actuaries at international business consultancy Watson Wyatt.

With Church Stretton's residents flocking to sign up for allotments, gardening clubs and community projects some would say it is no surprise that people in in the town are living longer.

Mary Phillips, secretary of Acton Scott's Gardening Club, which is based near Church Stretton, said the committee had seen a steady expansion during the last few years.

She believes growing your own veg definitely plays a part in higher life expectancy.

"You can go out and you know exactly what the history is of your produce and you can choose whether or not to use pesticides and chemicals or to grow your veg organically."

"The other thing is gardeners like to keep on going because they are always very keen to see what the next season will bring."

Church Stretton's mayor, Bob Welch said he believed it was partly down to money.

He said: "I think there is fairly strong evidence that more affluent people tend to eat better and look after themselves.

"These people have come to the hills for a comfortable retirement I don't think it is as simple as eating greens. It is a whole combination of factors."

In England, Montacute scored the best with a mortality score of 6.4, while Bootle, in Merseyside, scored the worst with 15.3.

The actuaries then used a complex formula. The highest average life expectancy for male pensioners over 65 was 25 years (living to 90), with the lowest being 17 (living to 82).