MORE children in Bolton have had the combined MMR jab than almost anywhere else in the region.

Almost 83 per cent of children in Bolton have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, compared to the North-west average of just 76.5 per cent.

The average across the country is 73.3 per cent and just 65.3 per cent of youngsters in Manchester have had the potentially life-saving injection.

The latest statistics come just days after Chancellor Gordon Brown admitted his two-year-old son, John, had been given the MMR jab and said parents had obligations to the rest of society to protect children from disease.

The figures show the numbers of five-year-olds who have had two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first when they are 18 months old and the second just before starting primary school.

While Boltons health bosses are delighted by the news, they are determined to increase the numbers in a bid to wipe out the three potentially deadly diseases.

Public health specialist, Graham Munslow, said: "This is a really good uptake and has picked up recently because of the science showing there is no link between the vaccination and Crohns disease or autism.

"Traditionally Bolton has had a high uptake so we didnt have as much ground to make up as other areas. But we can always do better so we cant become complacent."

But Astley Bridge Tory councillor Stuart Lever, whose daughter Olivia was accidently given the jab without his permission, believes intake could be "almost 100 per cent" if parents were given the choice between the triple jab and three separate injections.

He said: "I think the triple jab has only been given on a point of cost and people should be given a choice. Even though the figures are good, there are still two in 10 children in Bolton not having the vaccination."