Child poverty: Mum's battle to keep children warm and fed

A mother from West Yorkshire has described not being able to afford food, heating and other basic necessities for her children.

Rebecca said she sometimes struggled to afford bread and milk.

She said it was "heartbreaking" to see her children often go without things others take for granted, and this had affected their self-esteem.

Her experiences reflected a leading charity's view that the number of youngsters growing up in "very deep poverty" in the UK had risen to 1.8 million.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said the number of children struggling had increased by 500,000 between 2011/12 and 2019/20.

A family is regarded as being in deep poverty if it has an annual income of £9,900 or less, after housing costs and taxes are deducted.

The government said it had taken decisive steps to support families.