CANCER and circulatory disease remain the biggest killers in Dorset.

Newly-released data from Public Health England shows that cancer is the main cause of death across the county except in Purbeck, where circulatory disease was the biggest killer.

The proportion of cancer deaths in Dorset is around the national average for England, where 28 per cent of deaths were caused by all cancers in 2016.

Five years earlier, cancer was responsible for 29.1 per cent of the deaths nationally.

Helen Rippon, chief executive of Worldwide Cancer Research, said the lower mortality rate is a consequence of better tests and treatments.

"Some types of cancer have benefitted incredibly from research, with a person's chance of survival pushing upwards of 90 per cent," she said.

"Others have not fared as well and survival rates are still as low as they were in 1970.

"Historically, less funding has been given to some types of cancer, which somewhat explains the discrepancies in survival rates.

"The proportion of deaths caused by cancer in the UK is slightly higher than seen in Europe as a whole, where cancer accounts for 20 per cent of all deaths.

"To understand why some places may have higher or lower numbers of people dying from cancer you need to be able to take everything into account, including dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors."

The proportion of circulatory disease deaths in Purbeck is 29 per cent, above the rate for England, where 25.5 per cent of deaths were caused by such conditions in 2016 and closer to the national average of five years earlier, 28.9 per cent.

Jacob West, director of healthcare innovation at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Progress has slowed since 2011 and 150,000 people still die from heart and circulatory disease in the UK each year, with many more living with debilitating conditions like heart failure if they do survive."

He added: "Socio-economic factors have a significant effect on someone’s risk of heart and circulatory diseases, with research suggesting this is largely due to unhealthier lifestyles and being less likely to report any warning signs to their GP."