AN East Lancashire borough has been revealed as one of the ten “toughest” places in the country to be girl.

Hyndburn has been placed in the bottom ten of local authorities when it comes to girls’ rights and quality of life, according to research by children’s charity Plan International UK.

Council leader Miles Parkinson said that work was being done to reduce “inequalities across the board”, with education being the key.

The town’s results for for educational attainment, teenage conception rates, NEET ­— not in education employment or training ­— status and disability-free life expectancy, were among the 10 worst in the country for regional inequality.

Cllr Parkinson said that the council was working to reduce all inequalities, including those suffered amongst working class boys.

He said: “Education is the key to ensure prosperous outcomes for all children.

“This is not just about waiting until children are 16 and asking them what they want to ­— but catching them right at the start of primary school, finding out what they are interested in and raising aspirations.”

He added that links with businesses could help ignite children’s interests. “We are working with headteachers of both primary and secondary schools to create business links,” he said.

The leader of the council said that through raising aspirations and helping children to achieve their ambitions through the different pathways available teenage pregnancies would also be impacted.

“Nationally people are starting families later, because of their careers,” said Cllr Parkinson.

Blackpool was named as the toughest place in the UK to be a girl ­— with four of the bottom 10 areas being in the North West.

As part of the research more than 1,000 girls nationwide were asked about their experiences including feeling safe when out, experiences in the classroom and body image.

Six in 10 girls said they believe males are treated better than females in the UK. Just over 70 per cent noticed differences in treatment in the media 41 per cent at school and 22 per cent at home .

Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International UK, said: “As we enter 2020, it’s extremely saddening, but not surprising, that our report finds girls still feel disempowered and unable to realise their rights here in the UK.

“They are told they can succeed, but they face a threat to their safety in public, online and in schools. They are told gender equality has been achieved, and yet they do not feel represented or heard in public life. If adolescent girls are feeling undervalued, unheard and under-represented in public life, we as a society are letting them down. This simply cannot continue.

“The findings in this report should serve as a wake-up call for all politicians and leaders. Policies at both national and local level are currently not going far enough to tackle inequality, but introducing Gender Champions would make sure girls start to see real change at every level of decision-making.”

As part of the research more than 1,000 girls nationwide were asked about their experiences including feeling safe when out, experiences in the classroom and body image.

Six in 10 girls said they believe males are treated better than females in the UK. Just over 70 per cent noticed differences in treatment in the media 41 per cent at school and 22 per cent at home .

More than half of girls said they have encountered a situation where they believe they would have been treated better if they were male.

Plan International UK is calling on the Government to bring a new focus to girls’ rights, to deliver gender equality across the UK. Recommendations included stopping street harassment and remodelling girls’ experiences of school.