The morning after pill is being made available without prescription to girls under 16 in a Sussex town.

Pharmacists in Crawley can now distribute the pill directly to teenagers without a GP's prescription in a drive to cut the number of teenage pregnancies.

The move is part of an ongoing campaign by Crawley Primary Care Trust and West Sussex Health Promotion to cut the number of under-age pregnancies in the area.

The trust says pharmacists are ideally suited to support the campaign as they have professional knowledge and expertise and easily accessible High Street locations.

All the pharmacists taking part are distributing the Levonnelle pill and have had special training. They are being carefully monitored to make sure it only goes to people who need it.

The service is confidential and women will be able to discretely discuss their personal circumstances and suitability for Levonnelle with the pharmacist.

They will also be encouraged to make regular visits to sexual health and family planning services.

The campaign was launched earlier this month with the Fast Trax scheme, under which emergency contraception cards can be issued to allow teenagers to see a doctor within 24 hours of unprotected sex with no questions asked.

This lets them be prescribed a hormonal emergency contraceptive that can be taken up to 72 hours after sex.

Crawley has a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than the British average, which in turn is higher than most other countries in Western Europe.

Between 1998 and 2000 there were 267 teenage pregnancies in the Crawley area, a 53.7 per cent rate per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17.

The aim of the campaign is to halve the rate by 2010.

Health chiefs say the scheme does not encourage teenage sex - it is already happening.

Their aim is to make sure teenagers get all the information possible about services available to them.

The pharmacists taking part in the scheme are: Williams at Furnace Green; Lloyds at Ifield, Gossops Green, Tilgate and Langley Green; Sadler and Crombie at Southgate; Manning at Bewbush; Geddes at Three Bridges; and Chemicare at West Green.