DURING the recent weeks of the coronavirus lockdown Bury has been bathed in plenty of glorious sunshine.

And to make the most of the beautiful weather families across the borough have been spending time in their gardens to catch the rays, enjoy barbecues and relax.

But, miserably for many, more than one in 20 households in Bury have no access to a private or shared garden, according to Office for National Statistics data.

Thankfully this is lower than the UK average of one in eight, and the North West has the second highest percentage of population within five minutes walking distance of a park or playing field for their daily exercise.

However, the shortage disproportionately affects ethnic minorities and people in semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations, casual workers and the unemployed; who are almost three times as likely as those in managerial, administrative, professional occupations to be without a garden.

Meanwhile, older people ­— aged 65 and over ­— are among those most likely to have access to a garden.