LONG-LIVED folk in Teignbridge have to wait longer than anyone else in the UK to pop their clogs, figures have revealed this week.

Perhaps the unbeatable combination of bracing sea breezes and equally invigorating fresh air on windswept Dartmoor contribute to the district’s top placing in the national table for longevity.

Statistics from England and Wales Death Indexes show the average bloke in Teignbridge will live to the grand old age of 80 while women last four years more.

Shepway in Kent should be avoided as it comes bottom of the pile with a puzzling life span of just 41 years.

The figures were culled from archives dating back to 1837 and extending through to 2007 with Teignbridge inhabitants topping the league with an impressive average antiquity of 82.

Colwyn in Wales was not far behind at 81 while the bronze medal went to equally ancient folk in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire.

The number-crunching revelations came from the Ancestry website which allows people to trace their family trees online.

Miriam Silverman, Senior UK Content Manager from Ancestry, conceded that the dual combination of coast and country may have been a factor in Teignbridge’s brilliant stab at eternal youth.

She admitted: ‘It seems that those looking for the secret to a long life may consider a move to Wales or the South West.

‘Conversely, many ‘short-life’ towns have been affected by a trio of poverty, pollution and over-population, causing disease to spread like wildfire and reducing historic life expectancies.’

Half of the top 20 towns for life expectancy are in Wales, Devon or Somerset (1837-2007)

They are:

Teignbridge, Devon 82

Colwyn, Wales 81

Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire 81

Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London 80

Waveney, Suffolk 80

Mendip, Somerset 80

Uttlesford, Essex 80

Caernarfon, Wales 80

Torridge, Devon 80

Sedgemoor, Somerset 79

Aberconwy, Wales 79

Chiltern, Buckinghamshire 79

Fenland, Cambridgeshire 79

Ynys Mon, Wales 79

Amber Valley, Derbyshire 79

Torfaen, Wales 79

Trafford, Greater Manchester 78

Dacorum, Hertfordshire 78

Harlow, Essex 78

Llanelli, Wales 78

Across the UK, life expectancy has climbed to 79 years for a man and 83 years for a woman.

At the other end of the scale, behind Shepway came Burnley and Pendle in Lancashire and then the Whitechapel area of London where Jack the Ripper infamously murdered five prostitutes in the late 19th century.

Bottom 20 towns for life expectancy (1837- 2007) are:

Shepway, Kent 41

Burnley and Pendle, Lancashire 46

Whitechapel, Greater London 46

East Stonehouse, Devon 48

Kirkstall, West Yorkshire 49

Rotherhithe, Greater London 49

Epping Forest, Greater London 50

Radford, Nottinghamshire 50

Newington, Greater London 50

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 50

Liverpool, Merseyside 50

Otley, West Yorkshire 51

Great Boughton, Cheshire 51

Clerkenwell, Greater London 51

Wolstanton, Staffordshire 51

Chorlton, Greater Manchester 51

Sedgefield, County Durham 52

Pontardawe, Wales 52

Houghton le Spring, Tyne and Wear 52

Portsea Island, Portsmouth, Hampshire 52