More than half the babies born in Luton are to foreign mothers, according to figures released by the Office For National Statistics.
A spokesman said 758,000 babies were born in Britain last year. The UK fertility rate is now 1.91 children per woman - the highest level since 1973. In Luton, 51 per cent of births were to non UK-born mothers.
The rising birth rate has fuelled an increase in Britain's population to almost 61 million in 2007, largely influenced by the growing number of women of childbearing age in the country. Continued
A devout Muslim was found guilty of child cruelty today in a British legal first after forcing two boys to beat themselves during a religious ceremony.
The jury at Manchester Crown Court found 44-year-old Syed Mustafa Zaidi guilty of two counts of child cruelty.
The boys, aged 13 and 15, were forced to beat themselves with a zanjeer zani, an implement containing five curved blades, during a ceremony to commemorate the death of a Shia Muslim spiritual leader.
Zaidi, of Station Road, Eccles, Salford, also flogged himself during the ceremony at a community centre in Levenshulme, Manchester, on January 19.
The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted they wanted to beat themselves, but not under duress and not using Zaidi's zanjeer zani. Continued