Restrictions on television advertising for condoms are set to be eased under new Government proposals aiming to cut teenage pregnancy.

Current rules limiting advertising for condoms to after the 9pm watershed are set to be ditched, in line with recommendations from the Advertising Standards Authority. However, condom adverts will not be allowed during programmes for kids under 10.

“The presence of condom advertisements on television continues to be a subject of complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, but numbers are very low,” a consultation paper on the issue states.

The UK has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe and is wrestling with rising numbers of sexually-transmitted infections.