In 2018 an estimated 24 per cent of pregnancies to women in England and Wales resulted in a legal abortion

Almost a quarter of pregnancies in England and Wales were ended by abortion in 2018, the highest level on record, official figures showed.

Couples were deciding to have smaller families, experts said, with uncertainty over Brexit or changes to child benefit likely to have played a role.

In 2018 an estimated 24 per cent of pregnancies to women in England and Wales resulted in a legal abortion, up from 22.7 per cent a year earlier.

For the third year in a row there was also a small decrease in the number of conceptions, at 839,043, down from 847,204 in 2017, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The conception rate was at its lowest since 2004. The only group with a rising conception rate was