Over 50's flocking to the south west

A very interesting article by Steve Doughty quotes official statistics to show the mass migration of largely middle class over 50's and retirees to the south west with implications for the health services in the region.Two out of every five people in the region are over 50 and more than one in five - 1.2million people - are over retirement age.

Their presence has made Taunton in Somerset and Christchurch in Dorset the only towns in England where more than a third of the residents are retired, while Dorset is the county with the oldest profile in the country, with 29 per cent of its people over pension age.

And as well as the existing pensioner population, the number of over-65s in the South-West is likely to double in the next 25 years, with places such as Exeter and Westonsuper-Mare particularly affected.

Few of the West Country retirees depend on the state for their living.