IT IS not clear how much the smog cloud which blew over Worcestershire earlier this month affected people in the county with breathing difficulties, a health expert has said.

Earlier this month the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DeFRA) warned a cloud of smog blowing over the UK from Europe could be potentially fatal for people with breathing problems.

But speaking at a board meeting of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust – the organisation running the county’s three major hospitals – chief operating officer Stewart Messer said it was “difficult to say” to what degree patients had been affected.

“We are waiting for feedback from Public Health England,” he said.

“While our emergency attendances and admissions are static, within that we’ve seen an overall increase of 18 per cent in patients over 75.

“But whether this correlated with the smog cloud I don’t know.”

This week the British Heart Foundation released figures showing 87 per cent of people in the West Midlands were unaware air pollution can increase the risk of stroke.

The figures were revealed in a study by Dr Anoop Shah of the University of Edinburgh, who said even short-term exposure to air pollution could trigger strokes

“One of the key differences between risk of stroke due to air pollution and other risk factors such as smoking or high blood pressure is that the whole general population is exposed,” he said.

“As such this increased risk of stroke is in the general population and not just those previously thought to be at high risk.”

In Worcester 64 people die as a result of a stroke every year.