BRITISH society is still divided into rich and poor, despite improvements in living standards, according to a study released yesterday.

People in the poorest areas generally have the worst access to services, such as housing, education and health care, the report stated.

Research for the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation uncovered an "inverse care law", whereby communities most in need get the least support.

The report, which comes 60 years after the founding of the welfare state, is based on the 2001 UK Census and focuses on ten key areas, including health, education, property and car ownership.

In the health section, the report says the proportion of people with limiting long-term illnesses increases to the West and North of the UK, with one of the highest rates on Tyneside.

Meanwhile, a study carried out by a North-East professor reveals that older people in remote rural areas are becoming trapped in poverty - and suggests the situation is likely to worsen.

The research, by three academics, including Professor Mark Shucksmith, of the University of Newcastle, found the incomes of all pensioners deteriorated as they grew older, but nearly a third of over-65s in isolated countryside communities lived on low incomes during the 1990s.

They relied heavily on state pensions and other benefits, and the study says the proportion of older people is expected to grow more in remote rural areas than in other parts of the country.

The report analysed the responses of more than 10,000 people to the British Household Panel Survey over eight years, and the findings were presented to the annual geographers' conference in London yesterday.