More than a fifth of 14-year-old girls in Britain have had sex, each with an average of three partners, according to a survey released today.

But half of them regret their experience and 70% of all 14-year-olds say they need more information about love and sex, says the survey of 2,000 teenage girls across Britain for Bliss magazine.

Girls said they felt let down by parents and teachers regarding information on sex: 57% said their parents had never talked to them about it and 44% said they relied on magazines for details. A third got information from friends.

The findings show that of the 22% of 14-year-olds who have had sex, almost two-thirds have had unprotected sex (65%), almost half have had a one-night stand (45%) and 55% have sex more than once a month.

Some 60% of sexually active 14-year-olds said they were drunk when they first had sex. The majority, 94%, wanted to get married by the age of 25.

Lisa Smosarski, editor of Bliss, said: "This survey shows that teenagers really are new traditionalists - they want to get married and have children first, yet they are having sex earlier and often under the influence of alcohol."