THE difference between men and women's pay in Darlington is far greater than elsewhere in the region, a report has revealed.

The Darlington Social Issues Map shows that the average weekly wage for a man in the town is £438.50, compared with only £298.50 for women.

In the North-East as a whole, men earn an average of £437.80 a week and women £347.30. The national figure is £525 a week for men and £383 for women.

The report says: "The overall picture of unemployment in Darlington is one of a relatively productive economy in terms of the number of jobs, yet one that produces very low wages for women in comparison to its neighbours."

The map shows that Darlington has slightly less unemployment than the region as a whole - at 3.2 per cent, compared with 3.4 per cent regionally and 2.6 per cent nationally.

The wards with the most people out of work are Central, Northgate and Park East, where the unemployment rate is more than twice the national average.

"Darlington has a relatively low unemployment rate compared to the rest of the Tees Valley, yet still exceeds national rates in most areas," says the report.

"The exception to this is the long-term unemployment figures, which show Darlington as having less of a problem than elsewhere."

Twenty eight per cent of households in Darlington are classified as low income, that is, receiving benefits. That compares with 33.1 per cent in the North-East and 21.5 per cent in Britain as a whole.

The three wards with the highest number of low income households are Central, Cockerton West and Northgate, while Hummersknott has the least.

Almost half of the children in the town live in low income households and 18 per cent claim free school meals.

The North Road ward has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies, followed by Northgate and Bank Top.

Middleton St George has the highest mortality rate, with 13.5 deaths per 100,000 population.

The map indicates that house prices in Darlington are much higher than the regional average. The average price for a terraced property in the town is £68,691, compared with £56,070 for the North-East as a whole.

Detached houses sell on average for £175,587 in Darlington, compared with £149,372 on average for the region.

The lowest property prices in the town are to be found in Northgate, where the average house sells for £47,200. Park West has the highest average house price, at £168,700.

Darlington is revealed to have low levels of violent crime, compared with the national picture, but a high rate of criminal damage.

The report says: "As expected, Central Ward is the main focus of criminal activity. Northgate appears to be the second area most affected by crime, ranking the poorest ward in terms of domestic burglary, and is the next worst hit area for violent crime."

The social issues map is produced each year by the borough council's external funding team to provide the authority and other organisations with information needed to apply for money for community projects, including Government, European and National Lottery grants.