North Norfolk is bucking a new national trend towards shorter or stagnant life expectancy, latest figures show.

Office for National Statistics data shows that a boy born between 2018 and 2020 in north Norfolk is expected to live until they are 80.6 years old, up from 80.4 in 2015-17. Life expectancy from birth for females rose from 84.6 to 84.8 between the two periods.

The UK average for males dropped from 79.2 for the 2015-17 period to 79 for 2018-20. But the figure remained steady for female over the two timeframes - 82.9 years.

Pamela Cobb, of the ONS centre for ageing and demography, said: “Life expectancy has increased in the UK over the last 40 years, albeit at a slower pace in the last decade.

“However, the coronavirus pandemic led to a greater number of deaths than normal in 2020.

“Consequently, in the latest estimates, we see virtually no improvement in life expectancy for women, while for men life expectancy has fallen back to levels reported for 2012 to 2014.