SCOTLAND'S first private clinic offering parents an alternative to the controversial MMR jab opens this week.

At least 30 babies will get their single measles vaccine during a day-long clinic in Glasgow on Sunday.

Parents are willing to pay more than £65 for each vaccine to protect their child against measles, mumps and rubella.

A medical team from London-based Choice Healthcare Services will return to Glasgow every three months to give the kids their follow- up jabs.

The firm, who only started advertising their visit to the Regency Medical Clinic in Glasgow's Clairmont Gardens a few days ago, have received a flood of requests.

Parents have been seeking an alternative to the MMR injection since studies suggested the vaccine could be linked to autism and bowel disease.

A Choice spokeswoman said: "The response has been amazing and we may need to set up more clinics in the city and throughout Scotland. Parents should be entitled to choose the best method for their children and that's not available here.

"The course starts with measles, three months later we recommend the rubella and then, after another three months, the child should come back for the mumps vaccination.

"The charge is about £65 but it could be a bit more because we are having to travel to Glasgow."

Another London-based company is also cashing in on parents concerns over the MMR.

Direct Remedie plans to hold regular clinics in Glasgow every few weeks, starting next month. And dozens of parents have already signed up.

Only one medical practice in Scotland, GP Plus in Edinburgh, currently offers single vaccines but there is a 10-week wait.

In August, the Government commissioned a £300,000 study into possible links between the MMR vaccine and autism.

It followed widespread criticism of Tony Blair's refusal to say if his youngest son, Leo, had received the triple vaccine.

At one stage, less than 87 per cent of Scottish parents were having their children inoculated - well below 95 per cent needed to prevent another epidemic.