NEW figures have revealed the number of excess deaths seen in Cheshire East and West during 2020.

Throughout a year which was rocked by coronavirus, there were 4,479 deaths registered by Cheshire East Council, 13 per cent more than the borough's annual average of 3,975 between 2015 and 2019.

Meanwhile, Cheshire West and Chester Council registered 3,884 deaths in 2020, again 13 per cent more than the borough's annual average of 3,450 between 2015 and 2019.

They were among the 84,000 recorded across the north west, which was around 12,300 higher than the preceding five-year average.

Health charity The King’s Fund described last year's death toll across England and Wales as 'extraordinary' and is calling for a public inquiry to look at the Government’s handling of the pandemic.

Veena Raleigh, senior fellow at The King’s Fund, said: “Of course, the pandemic is not over yet and there are still more deaths to come.

“At some stage, we hope there will be a public inquiry that will look at mistakes that could have been avoided.

“The UK went into this pandemic having had a long period of austerity, which meant the NHS was already overstretched.

“The NHS has done an admirable job dealing with this virus. Their job was made harder by mistakes and delays in the Government’s handling of the pandemic.”

Health experts have repeatedly said excess deaths are a better measure of the overall impact of the coronavirus pandemic than simply looking at mortality directly linked to Covid-19.

This is because they capture deaths that may have been indirectly caused by the crisis, either due to people finding it harder to access medical care for other conditions, or avoiding help altogether.

Across England and Wales, 608,000 deaths were registered last year – 14 per cent more than the average for 2015 to 2019 of 532,000.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “Every death is a tragedy and our deepest sympathies go to the families and loved ones of those who have died.

“Throughout the global pandemic the NHS has remained open for urgent care and we continue to urge anyone who needs healthcare to come forward.”