AN angry opponent of the MMR vaccination has been left stunned after a health visitor accidentally gave his daughter the controversial jab.

Stuart Lever, who is also a Conservative councillor, has argued for years against the triple vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella -- believing there are health risks attached to it.

He told doctors to ensure his daughter, Olivia, aged three-and-a-half, would never be given the jab.

Yet a health visitor operating from a GP's practice in Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge, did not follow the instruction on the child's medical notes which clearly stated "MMR rejected".

Olivia had been taken to the practice by her grandfather. He watched as the health visitor administered the vaccination after giving Olivia a jab for whooping cough.

When he asked why his grand-daughter had been given two injections, the health worker immediately realised her mistake.

And she telephoned Cllr Lever's shocked wife, Melanie, to tell her what had happened.

Cllr Lever said: "We explicitly said we did not want the MMR jab for Olivia so for us this is a very, very serious mistake. Myself and my wife are in total shock and just can't believe it.

"Melanie's very upset because she really trusted the health visitor who we've always known to be first class. We know how hard this is for her too but there has to be a system in place to ensure this kind of thing just cannot happen again."

The MMR vaccination has attracted controversy and negative publicity over the past few years and this has resulted in a rising number of parents in Bolton boycotting the jab.

Last year nine per cent of parents refused to allow their babies to have the triple vaccine -- which was pioneered in Bolton in the early 1990s -- after it was linked it to autism and bowel disorders.

Research carried out by Sunderland University's autism research unit, however, claims autism may have been triggered by the MMR vaccine in one in 10 sufferers.

But doctors insist the jab is safe and that a failure to give children the immunisation could lead to an outbreak of mumps, measles and rubella. Experts predict a town needs to have a take up of 94 per cent to avoid such an outbreak; last year it was 91pc.

Many parents choose to have single jabs for mumps, measles and rubella at private clinics across the North-west.

Cllr Lever said: "It was our right not to have the jab for Olivia but we feel we have had our parental choice removed."

Mary Cropper, Director of Service Provision at Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: "The incident has already been reported in accordance with our internal procedures. I can confirm that we'll be reviewing exactly what happened, to check that all our systems for childhood vaccination and immunisation are as robust as possible."

MMR JAB: The vaccine at the heart of the matter

THE MMR jab is a triple vaccine protecting against measles, mumps and rubella. Symptoms are listed below.

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection with symptoms appearing seven to 14 days after infection with fever, runny nose, sore throat, hacking cough and red eyes. Tiny white spots appear in the mouth and a rash a few days later spreads to the body. Complications include brain infection, convulsions, coma and death.

Mumps is less contagious. Symptoms include chills, loss of appetite and pain when swallowing effecting mainly children between five and 15 years. Complications are brain infection and meningitis. Deafness, sterility and organ damage can occur.

Rubella (also known as German measles) is serious in pregnant women before 16 weeks, causing miscarriage. Later it can cause serious defects in the baby. Symptoms include a mild rash. Many people are unaware they have had the illness so do not know if they are immune.