A BABY boy born in a deprived part of Bolton is expected to live 11 years less than one born in a wealthy area of the borough, new figures reveal.

And inequalities in the life expectancy of males born in poor and rich areas of the borough are wider than those in other similar towns, according a report published by Bolton Council.

The gap has reduced for baby girls but is still high.

The report states: “Local inequality remains severe where a baby born today in Bolton’s most deprived area can expect to live 11.2 years less than a baby born in its most affluent area, with a comparable gap of 9.8 years for a baby girl born today.

“Though we see the above improvements, we still have the widest such internal inequality gap of our statistical neighbours for men and the second widest for women.”

Long term conditions such as cardiovascular disease are being blamed for the inequality.

Male life expectancy in Bolton is currently 77.6 years and female life expectancy 81.6 years.

Although the council recognises the "considerable gap" it states that life expectancy has improved faster in Bolton than in other parts of England.

A council spokesman said: “Life expectancy is commonly measured by looking at life expectancy at birth and estimating how long a person is likely to live if all conditions remain the same as at that time.

"Bolton is a diverse place with extremes of affluence and deprivation, which contribute to the way we compare to the national average.

"However, in recent years the gap between Bolton and the England average has narrowed and our average life expectancy has improved so we are travelling in the right direction.

“One of the biggest contributors to the gap is long term conditions, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), and we have highlighted that as one of our priority areas.

"We have already made good progress by working with our partners on schemes like the Big Bolton Health Check, stop smoking initiatives and promoting healthy eating for all ages, and we are able to target services to those areas of the borough which specifically need them.”

The report shows that deaths between birth and one-year-old in Bolton is reducing but remains higher than the national rate.

Causes of infant deaths are described as complex in the report but are said to "strongly related to maternal health, including obesity and maternal smoking, poverty, overcrowding and teenage conception".

There have been 57 deaths over three years, a reduction from 66 over the previous three years.

A council spokesman added: “The number of infants who die before their first birthday is thankfully, relatively low and as a result any fluctuations in the statistics are treated with caution.

"However, we are focussed on reducing the number of babies who die in infancy and our recent rate shows an improvement.

"We work closely with our partners such as midwives and health visitors, and in 2011 we joined forces with Wigan and Salford Safeguarding Boards to launch a Safe Sleep initiative which provides safe sleeping guidance for parents and carers.

" We also have a dedicated service, Bump the Habit, which helps mums-to-be to quit smoking, and we have a higher than national success rate of immunisation take up.”