Blackpool's mortality rate figures shame

Glasgow has topped the list of places with the highest mortality rate in the UK, new data has revealed

The resort has 1,287.8 deaths per 100,000 - the worst in the country.

Glasgow has the worst in the UK, with 1,389.1 deaths per 100,000 people last year, against a UK average of 982.5.

The data, compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed Middlesbrough was second behind Blackpool, with 1,285.4.

Apart from the City of London, the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea had the lowest mortality rate of any area of the UK, with just 667.4 deaths per 100,000.

The figures, taken from registered deaths in the UK in 2016, showed that Scotland recorded the most deaths of any UK nation, with an average 1,136.4 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Wales (1,045.7) and Northern Ireland (1,015.9).

England recorded the lowest number of deaths on average, with 959.8 deaths per 100,000 people - slightly above the UK average of 982.5.

The “substantial variation in mortality rates between different local areas reflects underlying differences in factors such as income deprivation, socio-economic position and health behaviour,” the ONS said.

The figures also showed the North East of England had the highest mortality rate of any English region (1,098.9 deaths per 100,000), compared with London, which had the lowest (858.8).

The West Midlands recorded the highest infant mortality rate of any UK region with 6.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, against a UK average of 3.9.