A SEX education book written by a North-East woman could be used across the country to teach youngsters.

Primary school children in Stockton and Hartlepool will be given the books to help them in sex and relationship classes.

The aim of the project is to reduce teenage pregnancy rates by discussing issues from a young age.

The books, called Godfrey and Lucinda, are aimed at children as young as four.

They have been written and produced by Carolyn Dailey, a healthy schools co-ordinator for Stockton, and have taken five years to develop.

Ms Dailey said: "The sex part is a tiny part of what this is about, which is giving children the resources to make informed choices later in life."

There has been interest from schools around the country in the scheme, which does not fully deal with sex until the children are aged ten and 11.

The seven-year course begins with four and five year-olds, who are taught how to make new friends.

The issue of puberty is dealt with in classes for nine and ten-year-olds, and in the final primary school year, sex education is taught and a character's older sister becomes pregnant.

Schools have to teach the reproductive cycle to children in primary schools by law, but teaching of the relationship issues covered in the Godfrey and Lucinda books are optional, and schools and parents can opt for children not to take part.

The programme has been trialled in two schools in Hartlepool and six schools in Stockton.

Health and education officials at NHS primary care trusts and Hartlepool and Stockton councils hope the books will be taught across both boroughs.

Andy Brown, the headteacher of West View Primary School, in Hartlepool, said: "There is a wider moral purpose to this and that is to improve the life opportunities of our children."

However, Norman Wells, the director of the Family and Youth Concern group, a national education trust that researches the causes and consequences of family break- downs, said: "What needs to be taught is sexual abstinence."

Nationally, the underage pregnancy rate is increasing, but in Hartlepool, the figure fell from 81.8 per 1,000 people to 58.4 in 2000, while in Stockton, it was 47.2 in 1999 and 39.9 in 2000.