YOUNG people need to be taught about sex and relationship education at an earlier age, according to a Swindon Council report.

The findings come after Swindon Primary Care Trust and Swindon Youth Service held a series of discussion groups with more than 140 of the town's youngsters.

The survey was carried out to help develop the Swindon Teenage Pregnancy Action Plan and will be presented before a joint meeting of the Health Scrutiny and the Children's Overview Committee on Thursday.

Young people between the ages of 11 and 17 were asked about what kind of advice they required in relation to sexual health and relationships and what information they would like to receive from their parents and teachers.

They were also required to fill in a sexual health quiz and to produce a timeline identifying the age at which they think they should be provided with different types of information about sex and relationships.

In total 105 young people completed the Sperms and Germs quiz, which featured questions about contraception, sexual organs and sexually transmitted diseases.

The report outlined a correlation between the age of young people and their sexual health knowledge.

It states: "Young people aged 11 to 13, in particular, showed a lack of sexual health awareness, and though this increases between the ages of 14 to 19, evidence has shown that earlier intervention proves more effective in reducing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

"Feedback from some of the sexual health youth workers also suggests that, although young people may think that they are well informed about sexual health issues, exercises such as the quiz show that they do not always have all the facts.

"The risk is that, unless services are easily accessible and young people feel that they will be taken seriously, they may not ask for advice."

The key issues identified from the survey included a need for more sex and relationship education in schools at an earlier age, the need for young people to have access to sex and relationship information outside of school and the need for increased parental support to enable them to be more confident talking to their children about the subject.

The report added: "Many of the comments suggest that the message about the realities of being a teenage parent is beginning to be taken on board by young people, but that more work is still required.

"A large number of young people referred to the risk of STIs but there is a continuing need to emphasise the importance of protecting against STIs as well as pregnancy.

"Young people and elected members have an important role in influencing policy development and the Teenage Pregnancy Unit would welcome ongoing involvement from members in championing this issue at ward and council level."