There have been 13 cases of mumps in the city

Students at Southampton Institute are being vaccinated at a special clinic on Friday, while those at the university are also being urged to have the jab.

There have been 13 cases of mumps in the city, many more than usual, said a Primary Care Trust spokeswoman.

The vaccination programme is for students born before 1988 who have not had the illness or jab.

There have been outbreaks of the illness around the country, with the highest total of mumps cases since surveillance began in 1995.

The Health Protection Agency says outbreaks are occuring in people who were too old to have been offered MMR routinely as a child.

Mumps usually results in painful swelling of the face along with coughs and sneezing. It can also lead to infertility in men, if complications develop.