Fewer babies in Cumbria were vaccinated against whooping cough last year than a decade ago, new figures show.

It comes as cases of the respiratory disease have exploded this year, with the UK Health and Security Authority confirming the number of reported cases in 2024 is more than three times as many as last year.

UKHSA figures show 95.9 per cent of babies in Cumbria had received their six-in-one vaccine by their first birthday, which provides immunisation against a range of diseases including whooping cough.

This was up slightly from 95.4 per cent the year before, but was a drop from 97.6 per cent a decade earlier.

READ MORE: What is whooping cough and why are cases so high?

It means Cumbria was one of only 31 areas to reach the 95 per cent vaccination target set by the UKHSA.

The UKHSA confirmed five babies in England died after being diagnosed with whooping cough in the three months to March.

Meanwhile, in the year to April 21, GPs nationally reported 9,575 suspected cases of whooping cough to the UKHSA.