Medway has among the worst early death rates from cancer in the country, it's been revealed.

Figures released today by Public Health England (PHE), show the area is ranked 119th worst out of 150 authorities in the country for early death rates from the disease.

And they show a postcode lottery even within Kent - in the rest of the county early deaths from cancer ranked just 60th out of 150 authorities.

For general health Medway is rated poorly, coming 80 in the country.

The rest of Kent fared much better nationally - making the top third for the lowest premature deaths, with a ranking of 53.

In total 2,305 out of a population of 264,885 people died prematurely in Medway between 2009 and 2011.

In the neighbouring Kent County Council area, 12,598 people died early in the same period, out of a total population of 1,466,466.

Dr Alison Barnett, director of public health for Medway Council said she was not surprised by today’s statistics:

“We have known for quite a while that mortality rates are higher in Medway compared to the rest of Kent.

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“Of all the diseases people are dying early from cancer is the one that we recognise locally we need to do more about.

“That needs to be through prevention, promoting healthier lifestyles and though vaccination programmes.

"We are also looking to improve uptake on our screening programmes for various cancers, we need more people to come forward, that way we can find diseases early and offer treatment.”

The cause of premature deaths in the area is down to a combination of factors.

"Of all the diseases people are dying early from cancer is the one that we recognise locally we need to do more about" - Dr Alison Barnett

Lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking, being physically active and having a healthy weight are important.

But there are also wider factors, including employment, income, housing and education that have an impact on people’s health and impact on how soon they die, so we need to take action across a number of different areas.”

Public Health England's Kent Director Dr Graham Bickler said: "The evidence is clear, a person's likelihood of dying prematurely from one of the top four killers varies widely between local authorities due to differences in risk factors, and that social deprivation and smoking are the most important factors."

The report by theLonger Lives website revealed Medway came out worse than average when looking at premature deaths from a number of major illnesses, with more people likely to die from liver, heart and lung disease.