A YOUNG mother has called for better sex education for youngsters after new figures revealed a shocking 40 per cent rise in teenage pregnancies in Woodford Green.

The first constituency-by-constiuency snapshot of the number of teenage girls giving birth was revealed this week by the Conservative Party, which showed a huge rise in births to under 20s in Chingford and Woodford Green over a four year period.

A worrying 38 teenage pregnancies were recorded in the parliamentary constituency in 2006, compared to 27 in 2002, making Chigford and Woodford one of the two-out-of-three wards in England and Wales where figures are on the rise.

The figures are part of a nationwide trend where more affluent, leafier suburbs are experiencing a boom in teenage maternities.

Lucy Davies, 27, Of the Ray Lodge Estate, in Woodford Bridge, fell pregnant with the first of her four children at the age 18.

She said: “There are advantages and disadvantages about being a young mum but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

“My daughter is now nine and I wouldn’t want her to follow in my footsteps.

“Sometimes I look at my friends who have just started having children now and wish I had more of a life and education first like them.”

She added: “I know a young girl who’s just turned 17 and she’s always going on about how she wants to get pregnant.

“I let her look after mine a bit but she only gets to see the fun side and not all the changing nappies and sleepless nights.

“I think this is the sort of thing that needs to be addressed more with kids at school because I don’t understand why so many girls are getting pregnant so early.”

Last month official figures showed a 2.7 per cent increase in the rate of under-18 pregnanacies in England and Wales over the past 12 months, and Britain already has the highest teenage pregnancy levels in europe.

Conservative MP for Chigford and Woodford Green, Iain Duncan Smith, has launched a campaign against what he sees as a breakdown in British family values.

A Redbridge Council spokeswoman said: "These figures have not yet been confirmed or released to us.

"We cannot confirm actual numbers in case of identification because we are dealing with such low figures. However, once we do receive the latest figures we will be analysing them and continuing to implement a programme to best targert teenage pregnancies and will then roll this out across the borough.