Child poverty help increases by 136% in three years

Roughly a quarter of all children living in Brighton and Hove are in poverty

A children’s poverty charity saw a 136% increase in the number of people using its services between 2020 and 2023.

Brighton-based Pelican Parcels provides essential items such as nappies, clothes, baby formula, bedding and school uniforms to those who need them.

The charity is hoping to raise £30,000 with its Be a Pelican campaign to address the recent increase in demand for help.

Some 26.4% of children in Brighton and Hove are living in poverty, according to research by Loughborough University and End Child Poverty.

Child poverty is when a child has limited or no access to items they need to grow and live well.

Shelley Bennett, co-founder of Pelican Parcels, said: "We want to ensure that more children have the essentials they need to give them the best start in life and to thrive.”

The number of children living in poverty in Brighton and Hove has decreased each year from 2016, when it was at 28.8% - although certain areas of the city still have greater numbers in child poverty, according to the charity.

Pelican Parcels will use donations to help cover the increasing costs of providing its parcels, to grow its volunteer programme and enable it to reach a greater number of people.

The charity has distributed roughly 20,000 packages since it began in 2018.