Figures released yesterday by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) revealed that underage pregnancies rose by four per cent to total 7,462 in 2005 - the latest year for which data is available.

This leaves England and Wales with the highest birth rates for under-16s in western Europe. However, the DCSF said the number of under-18s becoming pregnant was now at its lowest in more than 20 years.

In some areas, nearly one schoolgirl in every 50 is becoming pregnant. The highest rate was in the London borough of Lambeth, where 19.5 out of every 1,000 girls aged 13 to 15 became pregnant.

Southwark and Lewisham, also in London, featured in the top 10 alongside Kingston upon Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Blackpool. By comparison, fewer than two girls in every thousand became pregnant in Chiltern, Bucks, and in Ryedale, North Yorks.