Ten thousand women had twins last year

Women aged 25 to 29 are helping to nudge up the rate of multiple births, figures suggest.

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the rate of multiple births – mostly of twins – rose to 16.1 per 1,000 women giving birth in 2015, compared with 16.0 in 2014.

In 2015, 10,901 women gave birth to twins, 169 to triplets.