RURAL dwellers have long extolled the virtues of the fresh country air - and their claims now appear to have official backing.

New figures show Ryedale, in North Yorkshire, to have the second highest male life expectancy in the country.

The figures released by the National Office for Statistics revealed the life expectancy in the district to be 77.9 years, although Ryedale women came further down their list with an average of 81.6.

There was also bad news for women in Easington, County Durham, with life expectancy there shown to be 76.8 years - the sixth worst in the country.

Overall, the statistics revealed a major north-south divide, with Glasgow having the lowest life expectancy for both men and women.

Men in Chiltern, in Buckinghamshire, are said to be living the longest, while life lasts longest for women in East Dorset.

In North Yorkshire yesterday, there were differing views on the key to Ryedale's success.

A spokeswoman for the Abbey Residential Home in Malton, where the oldest resident is 99, said: "Perhaps it's the herbal remedies they used to use for illnesses, or perhaps it's just the country air."

But Professor Mark Baker of North Yorkshire Health Authority, said the figures could be attributed to more than just the natural benefits of the open countryside.

"North Yorkshire is by far the healthiest county in the North of England, but it is almost certainly not down to the clean country air and more about the people living here and their habits."