The number of under-16s visiting the genito-urinary clinic at Nottingham's City Hospital has doubled in the past decade.

Around 400 youngsters are tested every year, compared to 200 ten years ago, with one in six being positive.

Health chiefs and doctors are now calling for a safe sex campaign.

Clinical director for sexual health Dr Imtyaz Ahmed said: "We've seen girls as young as 11 and 12. We're not talking about people who have been abused but youngsters who are sexually active by consent."

New figures also reveal that Nottingham has more than twice the national average rate of gonorrhoea and there were also 1,200 cases of chlamydia - a six-fold increase.

Dr Ahmed said: "People must practise safe sex. We need a hard-hitting campaign."

This story was first published in the Nottingham Evening Post