Oxford is officially the sick man of Oxfordshire.

Figures released by the Department of Health show the city is home to the county's poorest and unhealthiest people.

The statistics highlight that Oxford has more homelessness, child poverty, teenage pregnancies and binge drinking than the English average, while GCSE results were poor and there was a higher than average amount of violent crime.

As a result, health workers said the figures were proof that the county deserved more funding to support on-going work to combat the issues - but these are often overlooked due to the perceived affluence of the area.

The health profiles showed how Oxford's problems are often masked by the rest of Oxfordshire's success, where cancer, heart disease and stroke cause significantly fewer rates of death than the English average.

A baby girl living in the city is likely to live to the age of 81, while a boy has a life expectancy of 77 - a year less respectively than youngsters across the rest of Oxfordshire.

In Oxford, one in 10 residents is dependent on means-tested benefits and more than a fifth of children live in low income households, compared to elsewhere in the county, where the proportion on benefits is just six per cent and just over one in 10 children live in poverty.

Jackie Wilderspin, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust head of partnership and health inequalities, said: "We're seen as quite well-off. In terms of the national picture, we miss out on some pots of funding.

"We're aware of the deprivation and want to make sure we target resources in the right places and in the right way, in partnership with other organisations like local authorities."