A health report on Hammersmith and Fulham has revealed that 62 elderly people die as a result of winter and lung cancer deaths are 10 per cent higher than the London and England average.

The investigation by the borough council and NHS Hammersmith and Fulham forms the first stage of a project to identify the borough's main health problems and plan how to tackle them in the future.

The report said that 20,000 patients have undiagnosed high blood pressure and 2,500 are undiagnosed diabetics. Alongside cancer, these conditions are the main killers in the borough.

There are high levels of 'harmful and hazardous' drinking, causing large numbers of booze-related hospital admissions and head or neck cancers.

The mortality rate for lung cancer is 10 per cent higher than the national average, with around 54 deaths a year, despite smoking levels being about normal.

The report also showed that there are more excess winter deaths in the borough than the London average, with around 0.5 per cent of the over-75 population dying every year.

"Older people living in poor housing are particularly at risk," the report stated.

Flora Gardens resident Elizabeth Kelly, of Hammersmith, said she thought the rate of winter deaths was terrible.

"We need more people to look after older residents," she said. "If they have got their families, fair enough, but it doesn't cost anything for next-door neighbours and friends to knock on the door."