THOUSANDS of people across Southampton are to get free health checks from GPs after it was revealed that the city had a “shocking” number of early deaths due to bad living.

The Daily Echo reported yesterday that the city is a hotspot for premature deaths from the four major killers – cancer, heart attacks and stroke, lung disease and liver disease.

But today we can reveal that residents aged between 40 and 74 will be invited to have a birthday “MoT” to boost Southampton’s bill of health.

The 30-minute check will aim to assess a patient’s risk of heart disease, tackle any existing disease and prevent the development of conditions such as diabetes.

Southampton City Council has joined forces with GPs, practice nurses and health care assistants to launch the initiative this month, with a £250,000 budget to cover the cost over the next 12 months.

It comes just 24 hours after figures showed the huge gulf in death rates from “the four major killers” between Southampton and the rest of Hampshire.

While Hampshire County Council was ranked among the best-performing areas in the country, in tenth position, Southampton City Council was given a “red light” as one of the worst, ranked in 95th position out of 150 local authorities.

There were 2,172 early deaths in Southampton between 2009 and 2011, with cancer claiming the most lives over that period – 119 per 100,000 people.

Nicola Duffeld, commissioning lead for the health checks at Southampton City Council, said: “It is quite a comprehensive check and we hope that people will respond to their invitations and help us improve the health of those living in the city.

“They should hopefully pick up things that people are suffering from but may have been missed or overlooked.”