The breastfeeding postcode lottery: Just a fifth of infants are breast-fed in parts of Merseyside while London boasts figures of up to 96%

The number of mothers who choose to breastfeed their babies varies wildly across the UK, new figures reveal.

In some areas up to 96 per cent of women report breastfeeding their babies at six to eight weeks - while other regions the figure is as low as just one in six. 

Less than half of women in England choose to breastfeed last year, according to the latest statistics by Public Health England. 

In fact just 43.2 per cent of mothers fed their babies the natural way, a slight decrease from the 43.8 per cent in 2014/15.

Boroughs of London showed the highest proportion of breastfeeders, accounting for nine of the top ten highest areas.

But the North East and North West reported the lowest scores with both regions featuring four times in the bottom ten. 

The figures were compiled from 105 local authorities who managed to submit data that passed a three-stage validation process.

However, due to insufficient figures, annual averages were only available for 72 of those.

The London borough of Lambeth showed a 96.5 per cent breastfeeding rate during the second quarter of last year - but there was insufficient data to calculate an annual average.

Southwark reported the second highest with eight in ten mothers choosing to breastfeed - but data wasn't available for a yearly average either.

Eight in ten mothers from Lewisham choose to feed their baby the natural way, while 74.2 per cent in Tower Hamlets done the same. 

Meanwhile, Knowsley in the North West reported just 16 per cent of mothers breastfeeding during the last quarter of 2015/16. 

However, the yearly average for this authority was slightly higher at 18 per cent. 

Halton had the second lowest figures at just one in five mothers choosing to breastfeed, followed by North East Lincolnshire at 21.4 per cent and North Lincolnshire at 21.9 per cent. 

The North East had a regional breastfeeding average of 31.4 per cent - but they were the only area of England to have an annual breakdown.

The remaining regions were unable to be given an average due to some authorities not having submitted sufficient data levels.