More than 58,000 people in the UK are living with HIV, following a record 7,275 new diagnoses last year, the Health Protection Agency said yesterday.

Most of the new cases were heterosexuals, and while 73% of them were infected in Africa, a rising number - around 500 last year - contracted HIV in the UK.

More than 2,000 diagnoses were in gay men, the largest increase since 1990. Syphilis infections also rose by 37%, and chlamydia by 9%. "We're a little concerned that the public health messages may not be hitting home as hard as they should," said Peter Borriello of the HPA.