After decades of rising life expectancy, progress in the UK has slowed or stalled in recent years.

Men in Hartlepool in north east England have seen the sharpest fall - that's been blamed on high levels of poverty, along with alcohol and drug abuse.

Drug-related deaths in the town have risen sharply, while treatment services have seen big cuts.

The BBC's social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan looks at the impact of drug deaths on the town.

Producer Sophie Woodcock, Camera/editor Rob Taylor