Free contraceptives could be handed out to pupils in secondary schools under new Government plans.

The proposal, from the Department of Health, is part of a new drive to cut the number of teenage pregnancies.

Between 1998 and 2000, there were 44.9 pregnancies per 1,000 among girls under the age of 18 in the UK, the highest figure in western Europe.

In Brighton and Hove, the figure was higher than the average, with 49.6 out of every 1,000 girls becoming pregnant.

In East Sussex, the figure was lower, with 38.5 conceptions per 1,000 girls, and in West Sussex, the figure was 33.4.

The Department for Education and Skills, which will issue guidelines in September, has said it will be left to individual schools to decide whether to offer the service.

If schools decide to go ahead, nurses and doctors will be brought in to oversee the distribution of contraceptives.

Other measures being proposed include improving sex education in schools, encouraging parents to talk to their children about sex and improving young people's access to advice about sex and contraception.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "This proposal is potentially a valuable step forward, provided appropriate professional supervision is in place to carry it out."

Between 1998 and 2000 in Crawley, the rate of conceptions was an above-average 53.7 per 1,000 girls.

Crawley Primary Care Trust and West Sussex Health Promotion pledged to halve the rate of teenage pregnancies in the area by 2010.

In May, the drive was stepped up when pharmacists were told they could distribute the morning-after pill to girls under the age of 16 without a GP's prescription.