TEENAGE pregnancies in Inverclyde have dropped dramatically in the last ten years - and are now among the lowest in the country.

The number of local girls under the age of 16 giving birth has fallen by almost 80 per cent since 2005.

Experts have traditionally linked high levels of teenage pregnancies to areas of deprivation.

But Inverclyde which has some of the highest number of areas classed as deprived, now has only a rate of 1.9 per cent of 1,000 - almost half the national average in that age group.

Health and social care bosses say they have invested in sexual health education in high schools.

An Inverclyde Council spokesman said: "The on-going reduction in teenage pregnancies in Inverclyde is very welcome.

"There has been a great deal of investment in this. The local Sexual Health Implementation Group (SHLIG) is a multi-agency partnership approach.

There is also more awareness among young people. This is supported by targeted efforts in schools that has been delivered over a number of years."

The latest figures show that in 2005/07 there were a total of 34 girls under the age of 16 were pregnant, but by 2014/16 that was as low as seven.

The national average rate of teenage pregancies is 3.5 per 1,00 of the population with Inverclyde at 1.9, the fifth lowest rate in Scotland.

The number of terminations has fallen as well.

In Inverclyde there has been training among teachers locally which has been rolled out and delivered to third year pupils, following additional funding from the Scottish Government.

The rate of teenage pregnancies has fallen nationally and in the UK over the same period.