LISKEARD has been identified as one of nine areas in Cornwall in which the numbers of pregnant teenagers are rising.
An action plan which has been reported to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority shows that council wards in Liskeard show conception rates of over 75 per l,000 among girls aged 17-18, the rate for Cornwall as a whole being 35 per l,000, and for England being 43 per l,000.
The Authority has appointed the authors of the report, youth service worker Sheila Hutchins and public health scientist Pat Owen, to draw up measures to beat the increasing numbers of 'young' pregnancies. The body which has been handed £75,000 to improve services to young people, has given £5,000 to Liskeard school to ensure facilities for giving out advice aimed at beating the problem, are not closed.
Cornwall youth service has also been given £12,000 for a sexual health training programme for youth workers.
The other areas with figures as bad as Liskeard include wards in St Austell, Penzance, St Just, St Ives and Hayle. Sheila and Pat said those most at risk of becoming pregnant in their teenage years were teenagers who have grown up in care or in poverty, or have been excluded from school.
They added, though, that even the most affluent areas of Cornwall have conception rates which are higher than the national average from Germany, the Netherlands and France.