North Somerset has the third worst inequalities gap in England – putting it on a par with Northern cities like Sheffield, Bradford and Newcastle for the gap between rich and poor.

According to a Government survey, North Somerset was the district with the third highest inequality in the UK last year, measured by the range between the most and least deprived areas.

All of the pockets of deprivation can be found in South or Central ward in Weston-super-Mare, which includes the town centre as well as the Bournville and Oldmixon estates.

The report also suggest parts of Weston were more deprived last year than they were in 2010, with Weston Central now sitting in the most deprived two per cent in the UK.

The Alfred Street area is in the top one per cent of most deprived areas, the Grand Pier area in the top two per cent and the Ellenborough Park area is in the top seven per cent.

The Stafford Road area of Weston is also in the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas nationally, while Clarence Park is in the top 15 per cent.

Argyle Avenue and Byron Road in the former South Ward area are also in the top one per cent for deprivation.

North Somerset fares much better as a district and ranks as the 121st most deprived out of the 326 districts in the UK.

Central ward councillor Mike Bell asked North Somerset Council to come up with a new strategy to address the poverty gap.

He said: “North Somerset is ranked as the third worst for our inequality gap – on a par with Sheffield, Newcastle, Bradford and Leeds. This is not company we would normally expect to keep.

“The trend lines are going the wrong way. We have a high inequalities gap and it is getting worse.

“Ultimately, goodwill and firmly-worded reports can only do so much, there also needs to be positive interventions to back them up.”

North Somerset Council’s people and communities board has agreed to prepare a report for its next meeting on how it might tackle inequality.