A BURY ward has been revealed as having one of the highest numbers of takeaways in Greater Manchester.

Bury East ward has the second highest number of fast food outlets measured against its population of any ward in the region.

The ward, home to schools including Bury Grammar and Broad Oak Sports College, has 61 takeaways for a population of 10,636, equating to 5.74 per 1,000 people.

A figure only exceeded by Manchester City Centre ward, which has 8.68 takeaways per 1,000 people.

The revelation follows the recent publication of research from Cambridge University's Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), as part of the Food Environment Assessment Tool or FEAT.

The challenge exposed by CEDAR's research is growing as the number of hot food takeaways in Bury reached 258 in 2017 - representing an eight percent increase in the figure since 2014.

Greater Manchester has similarly seen an increase of 14.8 percent since 2014, as the number of takeaways soared to 3,937.

According to the CEDAR analysis, the number of fast food outlets close to schools is also increasing across England - growing at its fastest rate, outside of London, in the North West.

Pupils from Bury Grammar School have access to 18 takeaways within 400 metres of school premises, the study shows.

Other Bury schools completing the top 10 for those with the greatest number of takeaways within 400 metres were: Gorsefield Primary School; St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School, Prestwich; Higher Lane Primary School; Elton Community Primary School; St Thomas Church of England Primary School; St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Radcliffe; Millwood Primary Special School; and Holy Trinity Primary School.

Manchester was also one of only three areas outside of London with the highest average number of takeaways per school across England, the study showed.

Alison Holland, head of communications at Bury Grammar Schools said: “Our aim at Bury Grammar School is to provide a healthy and balanced range of food that is both nutritious and exciting.

"Our catering team here provide the highest standards of food, quality and choice to our pupils. We take healthy eating seriously.

"Geographically we are located near to the centre of Bury and therefore possibly closer to a lot of fast food outlets.

"However, our Senior School pupils are not permitted to leave the School premises at lunchtime or any other part of the day and therefore are not exposed to the unhealthy food outlets during the School day.

"As an alternative, we offer a wide range of hot and cold food for students to purchase in our school dining room or pupils bring their own healthy packed lunches.

"We are aware that good eating habits can last a lifetime. For this reason, we can confirm that our pupils are certainly not being denied access to healthier food choices and we provide extremely healthy food options which all of our pupils enjoy."

Research by Public Health England has revealed serious economic impacts resulting from the ongoing obesity crisis.

Costs to the NHS related to obesity are expected to reach £9.7 billion by 2050, with the overall cost to wider society expected to grow from £27 billion to £49.9 billion in the same period.

A spokesman for Bury Council said: "Bury East Ward incorporates Bury town centre, the biggest town centre in Greater Manchester outside of Manchester city centre, and therefore you would expect a greater concentration of takeaways in a thriving town centre.

"The council is aware that there is an over-concentration of fast food takeaways in the borough and, following a recommendation in the Bury Director of Public Health's Annual Report (2013-14), the council has made a commitment to finding ways of controlling this problem.

"Bury currently has no parent policy within its adopted Unitary Development Plan with which to control the development of fast food takeaways, however a new Local Plan is being prepared which will include health and wellbeing policies covering this issue and on influencing healthy lifestyles through active travel.

"The council will be inviting comments on draft policies on this issue and other issues for the Local Plan next year."