More than 8,000 girls under the age of consent, including 2,500 under the age of 14 years, were given contraceptive implants and injections last year, according to Government figures, reports The Times.

Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that in the past four years more than 33,000 girls aged 15 and under had been given long-term contraceptives, such as the implant, which works for three years. The figures were almost as high as those for girls given the pill, the report says.