A weekly 10-minute walk is too much for more than 40 per centre of people in Fenland, figures show

Nearly half of Fenland people fail to walk for 10 consecutive minutes a week, according to the Department for Transport.

Figures from Sport England's Active Lives Survey show Fenland has one of the lowest rates of weekly walking in the county with fewer than 40 per cent taking a 10 minute walk.

Public Health England has encouraged adults to walk for at least 10 minutes a day, but 43 per cent of people in the area don't manage one 10-minute walk a week. The national average is 31 per cent.

A 10-minute walk could include walking to work or to the shops, as well as taking a walk specifically for recreation or exercise.

The annual Active Lives survey, which ran from November 2016 to November 2017, asked a random sample of 363 adults over the age of 16 in Fenland how active they had been in the past four weeks.

Sport England, which conducted the survey, aims to help get everyone in England to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity.

It focuses much of its work on programmes that help people who do very little or no physical activity, and groups who are typically less active.

In June, Public Health England and the Royal College of GPs launched a campaign to promote the health benefits of taking a brisk 10-minute walk every day.

PHE's physical activity lead Dr Mike Brannan said: "While we're starting to see more people being active, getting the nation moving presents a significant challenge and won't be solved overnight."

Dr Brannan said being physically active reduces the risk of serious illnesses, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

In Fenland people were more likely to walk as a leisure activity than for travel.

Some 43 per cent of people said they took a recreational stroll at least once a week, compared with 30 per cent that travelled at least once a week on foot.