Grow own veggies to live longer

London: An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but eating home-grown vegetables will make you live longer.

So say the residents of the sleepy English village of Montacute, who have just been found to have the longest life expectancy in Britain.

An analysis of more than three million pension records shows 65-year-olds living in Montecute can expect to live for an average of 25 more years, taking them up to 90.

In contrast, 65-year-olds living in some other parts of England can expect an average of 17 more years.

Residents say the key to long life is growing your own vegetables, eating an onion a day, drinking locally-sourced spring water and walking.

Britain's state-funded healthcare system, which is free for the aged and the poor, also came in for praise.

All Montacute villagers have their own little allotments - garden patches - where they grow vegetables such as onions, potatoes, spinach and beans.

"People are happy. We were always happy - poor," said one resident, 90.

The study, carried out by actuaries at the international business consultancy Watson Wyatt, focussed on men only. The company said the evidence was that it would hold true for women too, who would typically live two years longer than men.

The Guardian reported: "Bill Dufton, 83, was to be found on top of a ladder, restoring the window frames of his 500-year-old home."