WORCESTER has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the country, shock new figures revealed today.

The Department of Health statistics show a death rate of 7.7 per cent for every 1,000 births - a worse record than that found in the inner city areas of Liverpool, Newcastle and Nottingham.

Worcester MP Mike Foster, who obtained the research from the Department of Health, has called for a wide-ranging debate to discover why the death rate is so "worryingly high".

The city's infant mortality rates are the 53rd highest out of the 354 local authority areas across the country.

"Infant mortality rates in the City of Worcester are outrageously high," he said, speaking exclusively to the Evening News.

"It cannot be right your child is four times more likely to die before its first birthday if you live in Worcester, compared with nearby Cheltenham.

Situation

"I've written to the Director of Public Health in Worcestershire to see what is being done to put this situation right.

"It's simply unfair that in this day and age, where you live should determine whether your child lives or dies.

"In the weeks ahead I want people to engage in the wider debate about what can and should be done to tackle health inequality in this area."

Redditch also has a high infant mortality rate, at 7 per cent per every 1,000 live births.

Wyre Forest recorded a figure of 2.9 per cent, Bromsgrove reached 4.9 per cent and Malvern Hills 4.5 per cent.

Worcestershire Health Authority spokeswoman Janet Ferguson said she had not seen the figures.

She was researching the Department of Health's claims as the Evening News went to press.