FEWER women become pregnant in the North-East than anywhere else in England, figures showed yesterday.

There were only 66 conceptions per 1,000 women in 2003, compared to 90 per 1,000 in London.

Conception rates were also significantly higher in the regions closest to the North-East, including Yorkshire (70.7) and the North-West (70.6). The average was 73.7.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which published the figures, offered no explanation, but the discrepancy is likely to be explained by the region having an older population.

It raises the prospect of the North-East's population shrinking in comparison to London and the South-East, unless significant numbers of people move North.

But a spokesman for One NorthEast said: "We are more concerned with the number of people moving to the North East - and more are doing that than ever before."

A breakdown of the statistics revealed that North-East teenagers were more likely to become pregnant than the average, with the conception rate falling away among 20-somethings.

The biggest difference was for women in their early 30s - a conception rate of 86.8 per 1,000 in the North-East, compared to the average of 105.9.

The ONS also reported a one per cent rise in the number of under-16s becoming pregnant nationwide, despite Government efforts to cut the number. But the rate for under-18s fell by 1.2 per cent.

Overall, the conception rate rose by 2 per cent between 2002 and 2003, from 72.2 to 73.7 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.