THE number of underage pregnancies in County Durham and Darlington has fallen, despite a national rise.

New figures show the number of pregnancies among under 16s, which has been falling steadily, has gone up for the first time in five years.

Among the under 16s, there were 8,111 pregnancies across the country in 2000 - 161 more than the previous year and a rate of 8.3 per 1,000 girls.

In County Durham and Darlington, the rates are still higher than the national average, but statistics show the number of teenage pregnancies are falling.

Between 1995 and 1997, the figure was 13.4 per thousand for girls aged 13 to 15 but between 1998 and 2000, it had dropped to 5.1 per thousand.

Sue Everton, teenage pregnancy co-ordinator for County Durham and Darlington Health Authority, said: "These figures reflect the amount of work we have been doing to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.

"We have been part of a national information program-me and have been working very closely with representatives from the health service and the voluntary sector to develop a strategy to help reduce teenage pregnancy and support teenage parents."

The strategy includes sex and relationship education and improved contraception services.

Tees Health Authority, which has some of the highest rates in the country, also experienced a fall in the number of teenage pregnancies.

In Hartlepool, the figure fell from 81.8 per thousand to 58.4 in 2000, while in Middlesbrough, it dropped from 71.6 to 54.5.

In Stockton it was 47.2 in 1999 and 39.9 in 2000 but there was a slight increase in Redcar from 57.3 to 57.6.