AROUND one in six adults in Maldon took a short walk less than once a month last year.

Figures suggest there have been changes to people's travel habits during lockdown restrictions.

Sport England said a huge fall in walking for travel across England shows the "unprecedented" impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisation's annual Active Lives Survey asked 213 Maldon residents between November 2019 and November 2020 how often they take a 10-minute walk, for either leisure or travel.

The results, published by the Department for Transport, show just 84 per cent walked at least once per month for any reason – though this was up from 83 per cent the year before.

The proportion of people who walked for leisure – for recreation, health, competition, or training – once per month rose from 69 per cent to 75 per cent.

But the same figure for walking to travel – such as commuting, visiting a friend, or going to the supermarket – fell from 38 per cent to 37 per cent.

Across England, the proportion of people who took a monthly stroll for any reason fell from 80 per cent to 75 per cent over this period – the lowest since comparable records began in 2015-16.

Anxiety about going out and catching or spreading the virus, financial fears, more responsibilities at home and lack of access to private outdoor space all contributed

Just 36 per cent of adults walked at least once a month for travel, down significantly from 49 per cent a year before.

Lisa O’Keefe, of Sport England, said: “This reflects the unprecedented pandemic disruptions of that time.

"Anxiety about going out and catching or spreading the virus, financial fears, more responsibilities at home and lack of access to private outdoor space all contributed," she added."

The proportion of adults nationally who cycled at least once per month was unchanged from 16 per cent a year previously.

In Maldon, 22 per cent rode their bikes at least once every four weeks – compared to 14 per cent the year before.