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Two underage girls pregnant a week

A campaign to promote safe sex among teenagers has been branded a failure after it emerged two schoolgirls fall pregnant in the Lothians every week.

Nearly 700 girls aged 15 or younger became pregnant in the region during the past six years, according to new figures released to the Evening News.

The yearly total has dropped only slightly over the period, despite a series of initiatives to tackle the problem - such as giving free condoms to children under 16 and handing out the morning-after pill to schoolgirls without parental knowledge.

The new figures show teenage pregnancies in the Lothians were highest in more deprived areas, such as Gilmerton, Gracemount, the EH4 area covering Muirhouse and the EH11 area, which includes Stenhouse and Sighthill.

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church, said: "The fact there has been no significant decrease [in teenage pregnancies] after huge amounts of money has been spent on initiatives shows there is clear need to change tack. There is a lot of evidence that suggests the wide range of sexual health services out there has actually led to an increase in sexual activity."

Full story at the Edinburgh Evening News.