CHILDREN as young as 12 are being treated for sexually transmitted diseases, it was revealed last night.

Dr Sarup Tayal, head of Hartlepool General Hospital's genito-urinary medicine (GUM) department, said growing numbers of children were needing treatment.

"We are dealing with children as young as 12. This is especially worrying as younger children may not fully understand the consequences of their actions," said Dr Tayal.

He spoke out against the background of a rising number of serious sexual disease cases on Teesside.

Since 1995, the number of gonorrhoea cases on Teesside, regarded as an indicator of sexual health, rose by nearly 150 per cent from 58 to 140 cases last year.

There was also an increase in the number of cases of chlamydia in the area, between 1995 and last year, rising from 165 to 259.

Chlamydia often has no symptoms and can lead to infertility, with about a quarter of infertility cases due to the disease.

Doctors on Teesside said there was a need for more investment in sex education in schools.

"The age people are starting to have sex is decreasing and that is worrying, because younger children don't have the information on how to protect themselves," the consultant said.

Dr Abayomi Opaneye, head of Middlesbrough General Hospital's department of genito-urinary medicine, said: "People should wake up. They should start taking responsibility.

"There is complacency and we are catching up with the big cities very fast."

Staff at the GUM unit in Middlesbrough, who already visit local schools, say they are shocked at the lack of sexual health knowledge.

Dr Opaneye said: "With cheap education, you get cheap results. High quality education gets you high quality results."

A spokeswoman for the Healthy Schools initiative said: "We can probably never have enough in terms of sexual education, but there is a lot going on."