PEOPLE across Basingstoke and Deane are becoming more active according to new figures released by Sport England.

Figures from Sport England’s Active People Survey 2014/15 show the number of people choosing to exercise on a weekly basis has increased from 34.8 per cent to 40.4 per cent.

These figures mean the number of people exercising on a weekly basis is almost five per cent higher than the national average and also higher than the south east average of 36.9 per cent.

In addition, the number of people choosing to exercise three times a week has increased by two per cent to 23.6 per cent, which is also an impressive five per cent higher than the national average of 17.5 per cent.

The borough council’s Cabinet member for partnerships, Councillor Cathy Osselton, said: “This is fantastic news! We as a council, together with our partners in health and sport, work tremendously hard to encourage people of all ages and abilities to be more active.

“This is evident through activities such as the over 55s swimming lessons we fund, the many health walks we coordinate and other initiatives we support such as couch to 5k running sessions and buggy fit.”

Cllr Osselton added: “Everyone involved in promoting health and physical activity should be congratulated for making a contribution to increasing participation levels and this proves when it comes to being active Basingstoke and Deane is ahead of the field.”