In a controversial move, 11 Portsmouth pharmacies are to hand out the pills to youngsters who fear they may be pregnant.

Girls won't need parental consent to get hold of the pill but will need identification to prove their age.

Church leaders have hit out at the plans but health chiefs insist the move is necessary to slash the number of teenage pregnancies in the city.

Pregnancies among 15 to 17-year-olds in Portsmouth are more than 26 per cent above the national average. Sixteen to 17-year-olds account for 45 per cent of all teenage conceptions.

Portsmouth Primary Care Trust director of public health Paul Edmondson-Jones said: 'At the moment you can buy emergency contraception over the counter in Portsmouth for about £25, but that amount is a huge barrier.

'We want to avoid unwanted pregnancy. It is not about stopping pregnancy among people aged 18 and 19 who choose to have a baby in a relationship. We just need to make sure it's a genuine, intended pregnancy.'

Teenage pregnancies are also a problem in Havant and Gosport where the rate is above the national average.

The 'morning-after pill' is already available free for girls and women aged between 13 and 24 in Fareham, Gosport and East Hampshire.

Health chiefs say pharmacists will ask a series of questions to check whether the girls understand the pros and cons.

They must also check their medical health, suggest the child discusses it with their parents and can refer them to a GP or family planning clinic.

Graham Davis, a consultant at the sexual health clinic at St Mary's Hospital, Milton, Portsmouth, said: 'All participating pharmacists will have to be trained before being able to hand out the drug.

'I think it will make the contraceptive more accessible. Clinics have set opening hours and young people may not feel comfortable going to their doctor.

'Perhaps this way young people will be able to access emergency contraception sooner.'

However, Canon David Hopgood, Dean of St John's RC Cathedral, in Edinburgh Road, Portsmouth, blasted the plan.

He said: 'I have grave concerns. I can understand the dilemma young people can get themselves into but giving the morning-after pill out so freely isn't going to solve the problem.

'They need to be looking at family life, the importance of marriage and good stable homes where children are brought up with stronger values.'