Inside UK seaside town where people die 5 years earlier than surrounding areas
Scarborough is a world famous seaside town with a promenade crowded with tourists who travel from all over the country to enjoy its attractions.
But the seaside hotspot hides a dark secret - areas of the town have a life expectancy significantly lower than the national average.
People are also dying earlier in Scarborough than other seaside towns on the Yorkshire coast, Yorkshire Live reports.
And within the town itself the disparity is huge, with people dying nine or ten years earlier in Scarbourough’s most deprived areas compared to its wealthiest suburbs.
“It's shocking to see the life expectancy in Ramshill is 10 years less than those fortunate enough to live in Ayton four or five miles up the road”, said Rich Maw councillor for Ramshill.
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Crowds of people in Scarborough town centre during the hot weather (Peter Harbour)“It's obviously linked to poverty in many areas. I think it's even more worrying as we head towards winter with a cost of living crisis, I’m concerned that these figures will get worse,” he added.
The UK average life expectancy for men is 79 and for women it is 83. Meanwhile in parts of Scarborough men can only expect to live to 74 on average or 77.5 years for women, according to figures from The Office for Health and Improvement and Disparities.
Deprivation has hit the seaside town hard, residents say, with a surge in mental health issues and lack of support services in the area contributing to the grim mortality figures.
Many people have reported struggling with mental health themselves and can recall a time when they have been failed by services.
Tara, 37, who has lived in Scarborough all her life, said: "I notice lots of the mental health situations in Scarborough - there was a recent reported suicide at the Grand Hotel, there needs to be more out there for mental health there doesn’t seem to be much there at all so people suffer badly.
People on the beach at South Bay, Scarborough (Peter Harbour)"I struggle with it myself, people battle with it every day and we get no help because there is no where to get any. I just shut myself away then go off the rails when it gets so bad. People don’t open up because there isn’t enough out there to be able to open up."
Another woman, who also lives in Scarborough, has recalled from her own experience how the lack of mental health services in Scarborough almost ended her life. She also believes that the low expectancy rate is a result of the lack of health services in the coastal town.
Daryl, 26, said: "I believe if you’re happy in life then you will do better in life and I think that there isn’t that much for people to do in Scarborough - there is nothing here - for people to be able to have a good life.
"I think lots of people suffer with mental health issues and the lack of things here impacts that massively, there also isn’t enough help for people suffering with mental health issues.
"I ended up in hospital after an attempted suicide a few years again, but got dispatched at 3am and told there was nothing wrong with me. They were basically saying I’m fine and there is nothing wrong with me. It’s really difficult round here to get any help and people have lost their life because of the lack of help."
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Person cooling off with ice cream at South Bay, Scarborough during the heatwave (Peter Harbour)"There isn't a lot of doctors and dentists to get help either when you are unwell or have any health issues. Although they are getting better in terms of healthier places to eat in Scarborough - it is mainly takeaways and unhealthy stuff at the moment which affects people’s health."
Another woman, who did not want to be named, claimed people in Scarborough a much more unhealthy because of the amount of takeaway shops and low pay rate. She said: "Diabetes is a huge killer in Scarborough, its probably the life expectancy is so bad.
"There is more people on benefits around here than anywhere, so if you don’t have enough money you can’t afford to eat properly - all the healthy stuff costs so much more - its a massive health risk. Poverty is also high around here too."
One man added: "Just look at all the fast food and takeaways, people are so unhealthy. That's why."
Nationally the statistics show that coastal areas tend to have lower life expectancy. Many coastal towns throughout England also have disproportionately high levels of deprivation when compared with inland areas.
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