Latest figures show the number of children who have received both doses of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine on the NHS by the age of five is well below the 95 per cent government-set target.

Last year 74 per cent had the MMR jab – a fall compared with 78 per cent in 2006 – putting Portsmouth in the bottom third in the country.

It was slightly better in Hampshire with 78 per cent having the jab last year.

But this still means a total of 3,178 children in Portsmouth and Hampshire have not had the combined MMR vaccine.

Rates have plummeted after reports – which have proved to be unfounded – claimed there was a link between the vaccine and autism.

Dawn Saunders, consultant in public health at the Portsmouth Primary Care Trust, said: 'Uptake dropped as a result of bad publicity. It is creeping back up but we are still well below the target of 95 per cent.

'It's about getting giving parents a reality check – we don't want children to die from a preventable disease.

'We can't drag children into surgeries and shove a needle in their arm.'

She said parents in more affluent areas of the city such as Farlington and Drayton were less likely to take their children for the jab because of fears about autism – despite the fact the research has been discredited.

Some parents are also opting to take their children privately for single jabs of mumps, measles or rubella instead of the combined vaccine.

This week she wrote to every GP surgery in the city urging them to talk to persuade parents to get their children vaccinated.

National Childbirth Trust chairman and father-of-two Iain Gilmour said: 'The NHS needs to make sure the information about the risks and benefits of the vaccine is clear and readily accessible when they need it to help them make an informed choice about whether their child should be immunised.'