Would you leave Rotherham to live a longer life?

Differences in deprivation levels within the borough also translate into life expectancy gaps of up to ten years between Rotherham’s richest and poorest.

Public Health England published league tables for premature deaths — defined as dying aged less than 75 — in local authority areas this week and ranked them by deaths from the four big killers, cancer, lung disease, liver disease, and heart disease and strokes.

It was revealed that in affluent areas like Cornwall, Gloucestershire or Essex more people live past 75 than in northern less affluent ones, like Sheffield, Cumbria or Liverpool.

Rotherham came much lower down the list, ranking 89th out of 150 local authorities.

Between 2009 and 2011, there were 2,656 “premature deaths”, with cancer being the most common cause of deaths in under-75s.

Nevertheless, Rotherham was ranked the best within the 15 local authorities with similar deprivation levels and it achieved lower mortality rates than more affluent areas such as Bristol, Medway and Hove.

Dr Nagpal Hoysal, a consultant for Rotherham Public Health, said: “We should hold our heads up about the fact that compared to all places in England with similar levels of deprivation, we are doing better.

“We also recognise that there is a lot of room for improvement, but the NHS and the council in Rotherham have done many things to improve people’s health over the years.”

See the Advertiser to find out which areas of the town have the highest mortality rates and why.