PEOPLE living in the poorest parts of the North-East can expect to suffer up to 20 years of poor health compared to those in the richest, new figures show.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that the number of years that people on average will live in good health in the North-East was 63.5 for men and 64.8 for women.

But there were wide variations depending on where you live, with poorer people suffering many more years of bad health.

In Middlesbrough men could expect to have 58.6 years of good health and women 60.1 years.

However, within the Teesside town there were huge inequalities with men who live in the wealthiest parts enjoying on average 21 more years of good health than those in the poorest.

For women the difference was 20 years.

The figures show a similar story in Darlington. The average years of good health were higher - 62.1 for men and 64 for women - but there were wide variations within the richest and poorest parts of the town - 18.4 years for men and 15 years for women.

In Stockton, men in the richest parts of the town could expect 20.4 years of good health compared to those in the poorest.

The figure for women was 17.6 years.

In contrast, men in North Yorkshire on average could look forward to 66.3 years of good health, while women could expect 67.9.

Despite the size of the county, the inequalities are not as big - 9.5 years for men and 8.8 for women.

In County Durham, the average years of good health were 59.2 for men and 60.6 for women, with the inequalities within the county recorded as 13.8 for men and 13.3 for women.

Nationally, Kensington and Chelsea had the most inequality with men in the richest parts of the London borough enjoying almost a quarter of a century (24.6 years) more of good health than their male counterparts in the most deprived part, the figures for 2009 to 2013 showed.

For women, the difference was 21.2 years.

The London borough of Newham had the lowest level of health inequality within it for men, at 3.8 years.

The local authorities in England with the widest inequalities in life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy were mostly in the North-East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the North-West and some parts of inner London.