Nearly half of Bolton's neighbourhoods have poor access to green spaces, a study has shown.

A report published by Friends of the Earth ranked the accessibility of green spaces, including gardens and green open areas.

The scores, measuring access to green space, are based on factors including the size of gardens, and the number of nearby green spaces and distance to them.

It found that 29 per cent of neighbourhoods in Bolton are in the bottom category, with very small gardens, no green space within a five-minute walk, and limited access to spaces further afield.

14 per cent also only have limited access to green spaces due to homes having very small gardens, with public spaces less accessible either because of the limited number of them or are more than five minutes' walk away.

Mike Childs, head of science at Friends of the Earth, said: "Decades of brutal cuts to local authority budgets, combined with poor planning controls, have created thousands of nature-deprived neighbourhoods."