Parents in the East End are being urged to get their child immunised against measles, mumps and rubella as cases in London increase.

Between January and April there were 104 cases of measles across the capital – a large proportion of the 334 reported in England as a whole.

In Tower Hamlets there has been one case recorded already this year.

For the whole of last year there were two cases in the borough.

In neighbouring Hackney five kids have come down with the disease already compared to none last year.

NHS East London and the City, which covers Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham, has joined forces with the Health Protection Agency to urge more parents to sign their kids up for the MMR jab.

Dr Jim Lawrie, a GP in Newham, warned that the disease spreads easily in nurseries.

He added: “Measles is a serious infectious disease that is extremely contagious and can cause pneumonia, brain damage, damage to eyesight and sometimes death.”

The doctor advised that children are immunised at13 months and again before school.