West Somerset is the district with the highest percentage of elderly residents in Britain and the village of Porlock is the most elderly village of all.
Nearly half the residents are old enough to collect their pensions 45.1 per cent including author Margaret Drabble, 70.
The Department for Health tracks regional age profiles by means of a survey called POPPI Projecting Older People Population Information system.
Ageing community: Author Margaret Drabble, 70, is just one of the many residents of Porlock old enough to collect their pensions
The data reveals how the population gap between parts of Britain is widening. The inner districts of London are getting younger, while the rural parts of Britain are getting ever older with obvious repercussions on the provision of medical and transport services, as well as the housing market.
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The population projections have led the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, to call for more social housing to be built in rural areas, with more elderly-friendly homes as well as more affordable housing for young people priced out of the property market by older, wealthier inhabitants.
In West Somerset, which includes most of Exmoor, plus the towns of Minehead and Watchet, 28.8 per cent of the population are aged over 65.
But by 2020 that is projected to grow to 35.4 per cent. Rother, in East Sussex, and North Norfolk are the next most elderly districts in England, with 28.1 per cent and 27.5 per cent of residents aged over 65.
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