WORCESTERSHIRE has seen its teenage pregnancy rates drop by just over a half in one year, figures just released have shown.

The county saw a drop in conceptions to women aged under 18 to 41 in the three months to June last year compared with 83 conceptions in the quarter to June 2013.

There was also a decrease in the number of teenagers falling pregnant compared to the previous quarter to March 2014 which saw 51 conceptions.

Worcestershire's teen pregnancy rate stands at 16.8 per 1,000 women down from 21 per 1,000 in the previous quarter's figures.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released last July showed Worcester was ranked tenth highest in the country for teenage pregnancies.

Across England and Wales teenage pregnancy rates have continued to fall, although some regions did see a rise.

There were 5,740 pregnancies to girls aged under 18 in the three months to June last year, quarterly figures from the ONS show.

It is down two per cent on the previous quarter, and 9 per cent year on year.

The overall teenage pregnancy rate for England and Wales stood at 23.3 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 17, compared to 25.4 in the same period during the previous year.

It represents a four per cent fall on the previous quarter and eight per cent year on year.

St Helens in Merseyside had the highest teenage pregnancy rate at almost double the national figure.

The rate was 48.6 per 1,000 women, up 53 per cent on previous quarter and up 35 per cent year on year.

A spokeswoman for the charity British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas), said we should not stigmatise young mothers but ensure they have all the support to make the right choices for them.

"We have seen a huge decline in the number of babies born to teenage mothers over the last decade, in part due to the improvements we've seen in contraception advice and services for younger women, with straightforward access to abortion services when their chosen method lets them down.

"But it also reflects broader societal shifts, with younger women quite rightly expecting and able to pursue educational and professional ambitions.

"While we must absolutely work to reduce unplanned teenage pregnancy, we must also recognise that there will always be younger women who do want to have a child at this stage in their lives and actively plan to do so.

"We should not stigmatise this group of women but instead ensure they have all the support they need to make the choices that are right for them."