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The figures come as part of a more detailed set of results from the snapshot of England and Wales captured in March last year.

As part of the 2021 census, households in England and Wales were classified in terms of four different "dimensions of deprivation", which are based on certain characteristics.

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As part of the 2021 census, households in England and Wales were classified in terms of four different "dimensions of deprivation",

The first is where any member of a household, who is not a full-time student, is either unemployed or long-term sick, and the second covers households where no person has at least five or more GCSE passes or equivalent qualifications, and no 16 to 18-year-olds at the home are full-time students.

The third dimension is where any person in the household has general health that is “bad” or “very bad” or has a long-term health problem, and the fourth where the household’s accommodation is either overcrowded or is in a shared dwelling, or has no central heating.

Office for National Statistics data show 53.4 per cent of households in Wigan were deprived in at least one of these "dimensions" when the most recent census was carried out.

It meant the area stood above the average across England and Wales, of 51.7 per cent. However, it represented a drop from 60.3 per cent at the time of the last census in 2011.

Laithwaite is one of the most deprived areas of the borough. It is getting a major new football hub which, it is hoped, will give the area a lift

A further breakdown reveals which of the area's 40 neighbourhoods were most affected by deprivation last year.

In Wigan, the five areas with the highest deprivation rates were:

1) Laithwaite and Marsh Green – 71.8 per cent of households here were deprived in at least one dimension at the time of the 2021 census, down from 79.1 in 2011

2) Wigan East – 68.9 per cent, falling from 76 in 2011

3) Ince-in-Makerfield – 64.4 per cent, a drop from 73.5 in 2011

4) Atherton North – 63.4 per cent, down from 70.5 in 2011

5) Leigh North – 62.8 per cent, down from 68.6 in 2011

By contrast, the neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was Standish North, at 41.2 per cent of households.

The ONS said deprivation is a "complex topic", adding that more detailed information would come in future releases.

Census 2021: Most deprived areas in Wigan revealed