THE number of teenage girls getting pregnant in Swindon is continuing to fall, new figures out this week show.

Since a new strategy was introduced in 1998 to combat the problem the figure has dropped by 48 per cent, ahead of the national fall which is 40 per cent.

In 2012, the latest figures out, pregnancies in women under the age of 18 were 27.8 for every 1,000 in Swindon. This is slightly higher than the regional rate of 24.8 per cent but level with the national rate.

For those under the age of 16 the rate is 4.7 per 1,000 which is better than both the regional and national rates of 4.9 and 5.6 respectively.

Swindon also has the highest rate in the country for pregnant teenagers under the age of 18 having an abortion within the first nine weeks.

The under 18 abortion rate is 14.94 and 87.8 per cent of those take place before the ninth week. While no exact reasons are known why the figure is so high, one possible explanation is that they have easy access to services.

The pregnancy figures are being hailed as a success by health chiefs as the town had the highest rate in the South West om 2001.

Cherry Jones, acting director of Public Health at Swindon Council, said: “Swindon has made significant progress in reducing teenage conceptions and unwanted pregnancies, achieving a 48 per cent reduction since the launch of the first Teenage Pregnancy Strategy 16 years ago.

“Our teenage conception rate is now in line with the national average and, compared to other local authorities with similar populations, we are making great strides in ensuring that our young people are aware of the potential consequences associated with risky sexual behaviour.

“Working closely with schools and colleges, through our Healthy Schools Programme, we’re committed to providing high quality Sex and Relation-ship Education so young people can make safe and informed choices.

“This approach, combined with sustained provision of open access Youth Clinics, has contributed to more young people delaying parenthood and continuing with their education, employment or training.”

An example of the work being done to reduce the figures is the C-Card Condom Scheme which has involved putting dispensing kiosks at Swindon College and New College.

Outreach services have also been established at the two colleges by Swindon Integrated Sexual Health Services and a home service for vulnerable young people.

A new one-stop Sexual Health Website and accompanying campaign was launched in August 2014 and can be found at www.swindonsexualhealth.nhs.uk.