New data released by the Office for National Statistics has revealed the wards which experienced the most coronavirus deaths over the whole pandemic.

Today’s data is the most in-depth information released so far to see how many people living in our communities have died from the virus.

April was by far the worst period months for deaths, both locally and in the UK.

A total of 112 deaths of people living in Watford have been linked to coronavirus (deaths up until May 29), with 85 of those taking place in April.

The worst hit areas of Watford have been Nascot Wood (32 deaths), Holywell (23), and Woodside (11).

Nascot Wood’s total of 32 is among the highest of all wards in the country – although population will vary.

Almost all of these deaths in Watford have been due to care home outbreaks.

Hertfordshire County Council has reported 100 deaths of care home residents in Watford – either confirmed or suspected coronavirus.

As of June, the county council was reporting 521 coronavirus deaths for care settings in the county - so Watford equates for nearly a fifth of those deaths.

There are nine other nine districts in Hertfordshire.

Watford mayor Peter Taylor has backed Liberal Democrat calls for an inquiry into care home deaths in Hertfordshire.

Mr Taylor said: “The deaths in care homes in our town have been a tragedy. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones too soon to this awful virus.

“We must have a full inquiry into deaths in our care homes to understand why they were so high and make sure that lessons are learnt, so that a tragedy like this never happens again.

“We owe this to all the families who have lost loved ones died and the incredibly dedicated staff in Watford's care homes.”

Watford labour leader, Cllr Nigel Bell, added: "I am concerned at the high death figures for care homes in Watford, especially with so many residents and care workers in my west Watford area.

"I welcome the investigation into the reasons and lessons that need to be learned."

A county council spokesperson has said: “The rate of infections and deaths across care homes in Hertfordshire continues to reduce.

“There has been an ongoing comprehensive multi-agency approach to supporting care homes, led by the council and our partners Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA), local NHS trusts, and supported by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).”

Hertsmere has been the worst hit Hertfordshire district for coronavirus deaths and for many weeks, the borough had the highest coronavirus death rate in the whole of the UK.

Hertsmere’s Covid-19 death rate over the whole pandemic is 161.6 deaths per 100,000 population, only behind Middlesbrough has a rate of 169.2.

There have been 174 Covid-19 deaths in Hertsmere, with the majority of them taking place in April.

Bushey Heath, a ward in Potters Bar, and a ward in Borehamwood all experienced a higher number of deaths than other areas of the borough.

Click here to see why Hertsmere has experienced a high death rate.

Three Rivers has recorded 86 coronavirus deaths – with data showing most of them were residents in Rickmansworth and Moor Park area.