THE leader of Worcestershire County Council has been urged to do his bit to tackle "poverty pay" - after huge regional disparities in pay packets were revealed.

People living just over the border in Warwickshire can expect to earn an average £140,000 more than a Worcestershire resident over their lifetime.

The statistic, revealed by leader Councillor Adrian Hardman, is worth an extra £3,111 for every year of a person's working life, assuming they are employed for at least 45 years.

Councillor Hardman said the only solution was to try and raise Worcestershire's 'GVA' - known as Gross Value Added - by getting more big employers in new-age industries in.

"Our 'open for business' agenda to raise the prosperity of Worcestershire is right at the heart of this," he said.

"I share these concerns, and I think we should aim to raise our GVA to the level of Warwickshire.

"The fact is, if you're born in Warwickshire you'll earn over your lifetime £140,000 more than if you were born in Worcestershire.

"We need this county to raise its game and we also need to prepare our young people with the skills they need to enable Worcestershire to grow faster and stronger."

He was prompted to make the comments by Labour Councillor Robin Lunn, he said he was worried about "poverty pay" in the county.

Cllr Lunn said: "Poverty pay is a real problem in Worcestershire, and it's led to the growth of foodbanks too."

One train of thought for Worcestershire lagging behind Warwickshire for earnings is the rival county's connection with London, with its own successful parkway.

Both counties fare similarly for large employers, and share a common theme for having large numbers of commuters towards Birmingham, making the picture all the more blurry.

But Worcestershire parkway is targeted to be up and running by May 2017, and work is also progressing on Worcester Technology Park, which will be off Junction 6 of the M5.

In recent months interest in the site has hotted up, including from international companies looking for a suitable UK base.

GVA is a measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, and a higher outcome goes hand-in-hand with better earnings.