TEENAGE pregnancy has fallen to its lowest level in Bolton, new figures out show.

Rates of conception for under-18s was 30.3 per 1,000 according to statistics put out by the Office of National Statistics this week — but more recent figures provided by Bolton Council show the figure is even lower at 27.7.

Town Hall chiefs welcomed the figures saying the reduction in the numbers of teenagers falling pregnant is a result of work carried out since 1998 — when the town had one of the highest rates in the country.

Now only Trafford and Stockport have lower rates in the 10 Greater Manchester authorities — with Manchester being one of the areas with the highest conception rate for women aged under 18.

Cabinet member for Public Health Cllr Ann Cunliffe said: “I am extremely proud of the progress we have made in reducing the rate of under 18 conceptions in Bolton. To embark on a national teenage pregnancy strategy with such a high rate will have been daunting, but the people working in this field of expertise have been committed to driving these figures down. Nationally, the highest rates tend to be associated with areas of high deprivation and Bolton is no exception, and we acknowledge that we still have work to do to reduce conception rates further.

"However, by working with other partners in the town we have shown that by making it an issue for everyone to tackle we have made significant improvements.”

The ONS figures show conception rates for 2012, the most recent figure it provides.

There were 163 conceptions and the percentage of conceptions leading to abortion was 47 per cent, was up from 35.7 per cent in 2011.

Nationally the conception rate per 1,000 was 27. 7 and the abortion rate was 13.6.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “We are pleased to see our lowest ever under 18 conception rate since the national teenage pregnancy strategy began in 1998.

"At that time we had one of the highest rates in the country and we have been working on driving conception rates down ever since.

"The biggest achievement is how these figures compare to 1998, when the conception rate was 50.3 per 1,000. Our highest point was in 2000 when the conception rate was 55.2 and we are very proud to say this is now down 50 per cent.

"It has taken several years to achieve, but as a result of our long term strategy and working closely with partner agencies, we have seen considerable and significant improvements.

“These results have been achieved through a combination of the delivery of quality sexual health and relationships education in schools; the provision of accessible contraception services for young people, such as via The Parallel, specialist clinics and through some GP practices.

"We have done targeted work with those at most risk and have worked to raise young people’s aspirations and achievements.”