Sheffield neighbourhood has most COVID-19 deaths in country, new data shows

A total of 66 people in Crabtree and Fir Vale died with COVID-19 between March and May, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics – nearly twice as many as in any other part of England and Wales.

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The second highest number of fatalities – including deaths in hospitals, care homes and elsewhere in the community – was 36 in a neighbourhood in Brent, London.

Elsewhere in Sheffield, there were 21 coronavirus-related deaths in Stocksbridge, 21 in Shirecliffe and Parkwood Springs, and 20 in Chapeltown.

No COVID-19 deaths were recorded during the period in the Sheffield neighbourhoods of Springvale and Steel Bank, Ecclesall and Greystones, and Devonshire Quarter.

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Police have faced problems with people flouting lockdown measures and congregating on the streets of Fir Vale, though officers recently claimed more people in the suburb were now observing social distancing guidelines.

Greg Fell, director for Public Health Sheffield, said the figures were high due to the number of care homes in the area.

He added it was also one of the more socioeconomically deprived parts of the city and deaths from COVID-19 are closely related to deprivation.

The Office for National Statistics data does not include Page Hall.

Sheffield Council’s deputy leader Mark Jones, who is a ward councillor for the area, has previously said other factors, including the neighbourhood’s lower life expectancy and the proportion of people there living in large family groups and working in health and care, may have played a part in the high death rate.

Across Sheffield, there were 538 COVID-19 deaths recorded between March and May – a rate of 107.2 per 100,000 population.

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Sheffield’s coronavirus death rate was lower than in some other cities, including Manchester (135.5), Liverpool (144.5), but slightly higher than in Leeds (102.8).