REF: 72650-10Swindon may be one of the most prosperous towns in the country, but its teenage pregnancy rate is more in line with that of a deprived area.

Michael Wills, MP for north Swindon, says although the most recent figures show a sharp drop in the number of teenagers falling pregnant in Swindon, they are still above the national average.

Figures for 2002 show there were 44.5 conceptions per 1,000 girls under the age of 18 in Swindon. The previous year there were 58.8.

The average for England in 2002 was 42.6 conceptions.

Mr Wills admitted he is at a loss to explain the figures.

He said: "There have been some improvements to services but the figures are still too high.

"Normally, high teenage pregnancy rates are associated with areas of depravation.

"But Swindon is one of the most prosperous towns in the country. We have something like the fourth highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head in the country."

Mr Wills stressed the need for youngsters to think first before engaging in sexual relationships.

He said: "I want to see every young person having the best possible chances in life.

"Teenage parents can sometimes find it hard to get the education they want.

"Having a child can be a wonderful experience but it has to be a conscious choice.

"It's an important decision for a girl to have to make when she is at such a young age."

Mr Wills hinted that low aspirations could be to blame for the high figures.

Fran Birch, teenage pregnancy coordinator at Swindon Primary Care Trust, agreed.

She said: "If you are from a deprived background you are less likely to have high aspirations of going to university.

"There is a cultural issue that we have to deal with here. Many of these girls have parents and grandparents who had children at similar ages."

But she stressed teenage parents can be just as focussed as their peers.

"Every single student at our Pupil Referral Unit who sat GCSE exam this year passed with grades D or above," she said. "That has to be saying something."

The PCT has asked us not to disclose the location of the unit, which is specially designed with young mums in mind.

Mother-of-two Kim Seymour, 22, from Penhill, dismissed the link between wealth and teenage pregnancy.

Mrs Seymour, who has two daughters, Megan-Rose, three and Ella, 18 months, citied her own case as a classic example.

"I don't believe that to be the case at all," she said. "I originally come from Wootton Bassett and my family are well-off.

"But I agree with the point about education. It's down to what children are told in schools.

"I think girls should be told about the risks of going through a pregnancy when they are 10.

"A lot of things can go wrong particularly when you are still growing."

Kevin Shoesmith