A NEW sexual health project aimed at young men is to be launched in Hyndburn in a bid to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the borough.

Recent figures show that in Hyndburn, 70 of every thousand of girls under 18 become pregnant, one of the highest rates in the country.

Record numbers of people across the country are also suffering from sexually transmitted diseases, which has been blamed on a relaxed attitude towards practising safe sex.

Health service provider Communicare already has three sexual health information services at the Information Shop in Abbey Street, The Stables, in Russia Street and the new step-in-clinic at Primetime Community Centre, Stourton Street, Rishton but none focuses specifically on male issues.

Currently men do go to the sessions with their own sexual health problems relating to contraception, impotency and disease as they have nowhere else to go other than the family planning clinics.

But this has made some female clients uncomfortable and Communicare decided to get funding for a project just for them.

Lynette Harwood, health improvement manager based at Communicare Headquarters in Eagle Street, said: "The teenage pregnancy rate in Hyndburn is very high so we want to try and get information to the boys as well as the girls and tell them that contraception is their responsibility too.

"Even though they don't end up with the baby, young men need to be made responsible for their own health as they could still catch an sexually transmitted disease.

Sylvia Cullen, clinical nurse manager who opened the Information Shop in 1995, said: "Obviously 50 per cent of a baby is down to men so young boys need to become more aware of the issues involved with sexual health if we are to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.

"It is also important to make the information easily available in a relaxed environment as they don't want to go into an official health centre building where people know why they are there.