TEENAGE pregnancy rates in York and North Yorkshire are dropping, according to new figures.

The York and Selby Primary Care Trust has developed a Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (TPS) with the aim of reducing the number of under-18s getting pregnant, as well as supporting young mothers.

The latest statistics show that there were 112 pregnant teens in York in 2003 - a rate of 35.1 in every thousand.

In 2002, the pregnancy rate peaked at 123 - 39.5 in a thousand.

Despite the drop in numbers, there are still more pregnancies than there were in 1998, when 100 York teens under 18 conceived.

The TPS now gets about £100,000 in funding every year, with the aim of halving pregnancy numbers from 1998 levels by 2010.

The scheme also aims to get 60 per cent of teenage parents back into education and the work place so they are not shut out from society.

Carly Walker, pictured, teenage pregnancy co-ordinator for York and North Yorkshire, admitted there was still a huge task ahead to meet the target. "It's going to take a long time to change attitudes," she said.

But the new drop in figures showed the strategy was starting to make an impact, she added.

Across North Yorkshire, pregnancy levels among young women also dropped to a rate of 28.7 per thousand in 2003 - down from 30.2 per thousand the previous year.

The latest national teenage pregnancy rate is 42.1 per thousand. Statistics show that only about half of pregnant teenage mothers actually give birth.

The TPS aims to give young people a better sex education, with training for school staff on teaching teenagers about sex and relationships.

Drop-ins for young people are available at local colleges, and posters, postcards and leaflets are distributed to spread awareness of where to get sexual health and contraception advice. Through the Baby Gap programme, young mothers are given training in IT skills and CV writing.

Ms Walker said: "A major part of the strategy is to encourage teenagers to resist peer pressure and to delay having sex until they are ready. Young people today are bombarded with mixed messages about sexual health. Some still think you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex.

"In the past, young people didn't know where to go to get sexual health advice, and they didn't know where to get hold of contraception.

"If people still want to have sex, it's about making it as safe as possible."

Updated: 10:26 Monday, March 07, 2005