More children received a vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella in Cumbria than anywhere else in England last year, new figures show.

The UK Health Security Agency has urged parents to check their children’s vaccinations are up to date amid fears of a back-to-school surge of diseases like measles and whooping cough due to falling vaccine rates across England.

NHS figures show 94.8 per cent of youngsters in Cumbria had both doses of the MMR vaccine by their fifth birthday between April 2023 and March 2024.

This was just below the 95 per cent target set by the World Health Organisation, but an increase from 93.5 per cent the previous year.

It meant Cumbria had the highest uptake rate across the North West, while it was also the most in England, compared to East Riding of Yorkshire, which was second with 94.5 per cent.

Nationally, 83.9 per cent of five-year-olds were fully vaccinated against MMR last year – down from 84.5 per cent the year before, and the lowest level since 2010-11.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said: "I encourage all parents to take up the offer of vaccinations for their children at the right time, to give them the best protection from preventable diseases.

“Childhood vaccines prevent babies and children from suffering needlessly and can even be life-saving.”

She said vaccination helps to prevent from spreading the disease to more vulnerable people.

“It only takes one case of measles to get into a school or nursery where many children are unprotected for numbers to suddenly surge,” Dr Saliba added.

London had the lowest uptake levels of all regions in England of MMR, with 73.3 per cent of children having received both doses by the age of five. By contrast, 84.5 per cent were fully vaccinated at the North West.

Separate figures from the UKHSA show there were 2,465 confirmed cases of measles across the country from January to September 9 this year. More than half of these were recorded among children under 11.

The capital had the most confirmed measles cases, with 1,177. There were 90 recorded in the North West, although none of them were in Cumbria.