A MASSIVE baby boom in Bolton has been blamed on a lack of family planning.

According to new figures, births between 2002 and 2012 have rocketed by 25 per cent and an expert says it’s down to the fact that birth control is not a “great consideration”.

Jayne Maguire, an outreach midwife who works with some of Bolton’s poorest families, said: “I would say the boom is down to family planning and the financial implications of having a baby.

“A lot of people don’t have that consideration and for them family planning is not a great consideration.

“We do find that some people treat pregnancy as an afterthought.

“It is educational, but it is also cyclical. We see families where each generation fell pregnant at a very young age.

"It’s almost like they are following in the footsteps of their parents. The family is a very powerful thing and it is very difficult to break that cycle.

“Because of the way the benefits system works, it is also very lucrative for some families.

“Relationship breakdowns are a common theme too. I work with a team of outreach midwives and we are very busy.

"Since the coalition government came in, we have seen massive cutbacks and that has had a huge impact on what we are able to offer families.”

The figures suggest more than half of Bolton babies are born in the most deprived areas of the borough, posing a serious health risk to some of the town’s poorest families.

The council say the increase in births reflects the “national picture” and predict the birth rate will plateau after 2016.

Yet health workers and council leaders have warned services are already struggling to cope with Bolton’s existing population, which currently sits at about 277,000.

The number of babies born per year has rocketed from 3,189 in 2002 to 3, 975 in 2012.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “Projections suggest that the fertility rate will peak in 2016 and but then fall back to current levels by 2026.

“This is expected to place additional burdens on local services over the next decade and as a result there will be increased demand for maternity services, community child health and wellbeing services, such as children’s centres, plus school places.

“Just over half of new Bolton babies (54 per cent) are born in the most deprived areas, so there is also a risk that this will affect future health inequalities.

"In recent years, there have been great improvements in maternal and early years health and wellbeing, and we will continue to develop these key areas.”

Since 2009, £50 million has been spent on creating more than 3,000 extra school places, including areas in which schools had been controversially closed.

Cllr Linda Thomas, deputy leader of the council, said: “We need people who are growing up, working, paying their taxes and paying for the elderly people who are going to live longer.

“At the moment there is not enough money in the kitty. The government needs to recognise that we will need extra resources to educate our children in the right environment and not in overcrowded school rooms.

"This is the new emerging Bolton and it is about dealing with the extra demand.”