RESIDENTS in North Oxford have a life expectancy six years greater than those living in Blackbird Leys, figures show.

Average life expectancy figures for each area of the city highlight clear divides between traditionally affluent and deprived areas.

While those living in the St Margaret's ward can expect to live until almost 82, the average life expectancy in Blackbird Leys is a little over 75.

Similarly, life expectancy in Northfield Brook is 75.6 years while it is 81.3 in Headington Hill and Northway.

And, in common with many things in life, money is blamed for the disparity.

The information has been collected by the Oxford-based South East Public Health Observatory (SEPHO) and Oxford City PCT to give the latest snapshot of health deprivation across the city.

Alison Hill, director of SEPHO, said: "Life expectancy tends to be related to affluence.

"People living in less well-off areas tend to suffer from poorer health and, therefore, lower life expectancy than people living in more affluent areas.

"When compared to the rest of England, life expectancy in Oxford is average for men and significantly above the England average for women."

According to the figures, people in Oxford do not live healthy lives, with 25 per cent of adults smoking and binge drinking reflected in the high number of alcohol-related hospital admissions.

And tooth decay in five-year-olds is worse than regional and national averages.

Blackbird Leys Health Centre has more cases of diabetes and high blood pressure than an other practice in the Oxford area.

And GPs blame this on heavy smoking, a lack of exercise and poor diet.

Dr Matthew Wilkinson, a GP at the Blackbird Leys Health Centre, said: "I am not at all surprised (at these figures).

"If you look at something like incidents of tuberculosis it went down from the turn of the century to the 1960s the arrival of antibiotics hardly caused a blip, it was entirely to do with the standard of living.

"The effect we have is fairly modest, a lot is to do with personal choice don't smoke, take exercise and keep weight down."

The Oxford ward with the lowest life expectancy rate is Carfax, but health managers think this is an anomaly because of a high number of homeless and rough sleepers.

The district with the highest life expectancy in Oxfordshire is Didcot Ladygrove, with an average of 88.7.

Average life expectancy in England 78.6 years.

Jackie Wilderspin, senior public health manager at Oxford City PCT, said: "Health inequality in the city is a core part of our work.

"We do read a lot into these figures it is a very serious issue and one of our main priorities, for example through our work with the East Oxford Healthy Living Initiative."

She added: "There are a mixture of things that causes life expectancy rates to vary including major lifestyle choices like smoking, eating, obesity and alcohol consumption."