NEARLY 5,000 Lancashire residents signed up to quit smoking in this year's Stoptober campaign , 11 per cent up last year. .

The figures mean Lancashire County Council has once again generated the biggest sign-up rates for any local authority in the north west.

County health boss Azhar Ali said: "I'm pleased that Lancashire is once again leading the way in the north west for the number of people who have signed up for Stoptober.

"More than 20 per cent of the county's population smokes; that's higher than the national average."