Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed that between January 1 and May 9 this year, there were 440 laboratory confirmed measles cases, with London (164), the South East (86), West Midlands (78), South West (42) and West Yorkshire) the worst affected areas.

There has been a sharp rise over the past six weeks, with PHE confirming there were just 168 measles cases at the end of March.

PHE said the increase is associated with large ongoing outbreaks in Europe, with those aged 15 years and over who missed out on MMR vaccine when they were younger and some under-vaccinated communities particularly affected.

PHE is advising that anyone who has not received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is most at risk, while youngsters coming into close contact with each other in environments such as festivals are more at risk, as well as unvaccinated people travelling to Romania and Italy, where there are currently large outbreaks.

It said anyone who is not sure if they are fully vaccinated to check with their GP, who can advise them.

The total number is already higher then 2017, when there were 267 confirmed cases in England but is slightly lower than the 531 cases in 2016.