Men hoping to live a long time can do themselves a big favour by moving to Horsham.

The male life expectancy in the district is 78.9 years - the second highest in the UK.

Only men in east Dorset live longer, and only slightly - their life expectancy is 79.

But the new figures from the National Statistics office show the news in Horsham is not so good for women.

They live longer than men in the Horsham area, with a life expectancy of 82 - but that's only enough to rank the district 42nd out of more than 400 local authorities.

The faster pace of life in Brighton and Hove is believed to be reflected by the lower life expectancy figures, with 74.8 years for men and 80.5 for women.

Horsham GP James Parker said he wasn't surprised by the figures.

He said: "I see a lot of elderly patients who have been living around here for years and are a lot less stressed than people in busier areas.

"The lifestyle around here is pretty affluent, which also helps."

Angela Grimsdell, welfare services co-ordinator for Horsham District Age Concern, said: "I can't really put my finger on why the figure should be so good for Horsham although it is a nice place to live and quite relaxed."

Eric Edwards, 74, is a regular visitor to the David Bryce day centre in Horsham.

He said: "I'm not surprised. I've lived here for more than 20 years and I love it here.

"There are all the shops you need and plenty of nice places to visit. It is much nicer than living in a city."

The figures, which cover the period 1998 to 2000, show men from some parts of the South-East have a life expectancy at birth more than ten years higher than men from Scotland, illustrating a clear North-South divide.

The lowest figure is in Scotland, with men in Inverclyde having a life expectancy of 69.9 years and those in Glasgow City 68.7 years.