Abortions have reached the highest level ever in the UK, as new data reveals that 200,000 women had their pregnancies terminated last year.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published figures today revealing that there were 200,608 abortions for women in England and Wales in 2018. This marked an increase of 4% or 192,900 from the previous year. A further 4,687 abortions were carried out on non-residents in 2018.

Experts said that the increase was as a result of older women and mothers being more likely to have abortions.

Clare Murphy, director of external affairs at abortion provider the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: "The reasons for the increase in abortions for older women in England and Wales are complex.