MORE than 60,000 people are providing family or friends with unpaid care, county council statistics show.

Its joint spatial needs analysis shows 61,100 people were providing the care.

Of those, 17,400 Oxfordshire residents were providing 20 or more hours of unpaid care.

Other figures show a quarter of all carers had long standing illnesses themselves. Serious issues included feeling tired, having disturbed sleep and generally feeling stressed.

The county council said it was supporting 779 young carers in February.