AN URGENT plan to cut the number of Bolton teenagers getting pregnant is being launched by council and health chiefs.

At one stage last year at least one in 20 girls from the town aged under 18 were falling pregnant, compared to a national average of around one in 25.

The rate was described as a “significant deterioration” in past performance in a report to Bolton Council’s executive committee.

The council’s latest figures show the rate has now improved to one in 22, but town hall officials admit they are still off target.

They have launched an action plan with Bolton Primary Care Trust in a bid to hit the target they set themselves of one in 23.

It includes: more health workers going into schools to talk about the dangers of unprotected sex and the benefits of waiting before becoming sexually active; encouraging parents to talk to their children more about sex education, and spending more money on making free contraception widely available.

The council and PCT are also looking to identify which areas have the highest teenage pregnancy rates so they can give schools and community centres there more attention.

Cllr Andy Morgan, chairman of the council’s health scrutiny committee, said that pregnancy levels were too high, but said he was confident the action plan would work.

He said: “A lot of work has been ongoing over the past few years with our partners to tackle the unacceptable levels of teenage pregnancy in Bolton, a lot of which we are really only starting to see the benefit of.

“We are confident that it is only a matter of time before we start to reap the benefits and see the numbers fall.”

A spokesman for the Family Planning Association said that the national rate was at its lowest for 20 years, but said a lot more work was needed in struggling areas.