A mum pushes her baby girl through Farnworth town centre. “I have to keep walking otherwise she’ll wake up,” she says as she gently rocks the pram from side to side.
The shopping precinct is busy but the tot doesn’t stir. Sleeping soundly beneath the safety of her blanket, she’s happy and healthy.
But her hometown has an unsettling secret. Babies born in the Moses Gate area of Farnworth are expected to live to just 75-years-old on average – meaning it has one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the country. “We’re in 2023,” the mum tells the Manchester Evening News. “You don’t expect that, do you?
I know it’s not an affluent area by any means but that’s madness.” READ MORE: Mancunians are dying too soon... this is the bold - and risky - plan for change The shocking data, released by campaigners Health Equals, found that babies born in the Bolton postcode have the lowest life expectancy in Greater Manchester, alongside Oldham town centre.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk