Youngsters need to hear about the full horrors of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) if they are going to start using contraception.

This is the view of young people attending an innovative conference.

The Sexual Health Information Conference brought together young people from across South Essex, including Brentwood, Billericay and Wickford, to discuss issues surrounding sex education.

Many delegates said young people needed to be given better information about the threat of STDs _ not the problems of teenage pregnancy.

And several who spoke at the conference, organised by the Shadow Community Health Council and Basildon Youth Council, claimed the fear of teenage pregnancy was now not enough of a deterrent to stop young people from having unprotected sex.

Deputy Chief Officer at the full CHC, Pauline Brown, said: "It was also argued sex education should start earlier than it now does.

"Many talked about how patchy sexual education was in some schools and it was clear some schools are very good at dealing with the subject, while others are not quite as good."

The findings will go on to inform the work of the Primary Care Groups operating in Billericay, Wickford and Brentwood.

The conference which included workshops, theatre presentations and a question and answer session with a panel of experts is being viewed as a success by organisers.

Chair of the shadow CHC, Rosie Davis, said: "We were overwhelmed by the amount of people who attended the Conference. The young people actively participated in the workshops and had plenty of questions to ask the panel."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.