CROYDON'S teenage pregnancy rate has dropped for the fourth year in a row and is now half what it was in 1998.
Data published by the Office of National Statistics this week shows that pregnancies in under 18s fell from 59.1 per 1,000 women in 1998 to 28.6 in 2012, the most recently available figures.
The rate of teenage pregnancies in Croydon has fallen steadily each year since 2008.
It fell 12 per cent in 2012 but was still higher than the national average of 27.7.
Nationally the under 18 conception rate has decreased 40.6 per cent since 1998, but some areas remain nearly 90 per cent higher than the England average.
Dr Yvonne, regional director for Public Health England's London branch, said the figures were "encouraging".
"Improved access to sexual health services in the capital, along with greater access to contraception, has been crucial to the reduction in teenage pregnancy," she said.
"Sex and relationship education both in school and out of school is vital and will be key to London ensuring that this downward trend is maintained.
"Public Health England will be working with local authorities and the NHS in London to help them make further progress."
Middlesbrough, in the north east, had the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in England and Wales in 2012, with 52 per 1,000 women.
Surrey's Mole Valley had the lowest, with 8.8 per 1,000.
