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Families struggling to get by due to price rises

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CitrixNews Staff
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Families struggling to get by due to price rises
Families struggling to get by due to price rises42 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleCharlie Stubbsin TelfordCharlie Stubbs / BBC There is a man in a black beanie hat, and a brown beard. He is wearing a black puffer coat with a black hoodie and a blue t shirt. He is standing in front of a cobbled wall.Charlie Stubbs / BBCDan James says he cutting back on things that he wouldn't normally cut back on, so his family can afford the price increases

Families in Shropshire are worried about the cost of living to the point that one woman is "eating cereal for breakfast, dinner and tea" because that is all she can afford.

Bills including council tax, water, internet and broadband have increased, alongside the cost of food shopping and petrol.

It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the nation, on 1 April, and said the Iran conflict would impact prices in the UK - but action was being taken to ease the cost of living.

Parents in Telford said they do not know where to turn, due to the skyrocketing prices.

Dan James, from Telford, said the Easter holidays are an extra challenge.

"It's really hard to get by sometimes, even if you're on a good wage," James said.

"You have to cut back on certain things to make room to afford other things, and now it is Easter, I have got to keep a young child happy and she wants to do things, and sometimes you just don't have the money to be able to do it.

"Families get hit with a lot of it, just rising taxes, wages going up, really small things like petrol is a big issue now."

Charlie Stubbs / BBC There is a woman in her 50s with a pink coat and a dark pink t-shirt underneath. She has brown shoulder-length hair and a fringe that covers her forehead.Charlie Stubbs / BBCLisa Hirst, from Birmingham, said she's having to help her adult daughter, even though she struggles herself

Karen Fear, who's also from the town, said she's been left in such a position where she's working three jobs and still can't afford to live.

"I am paying 20% tax and they're not even full-time jobs, they're part-time jobs," Fear said.

"You can not afford to live. I'm living on breakfast cereal because it's cheaper for me to go and buy a box of breakfast cereal and have that for breakfast, dinner and tea."

"It is just a nightmare, it is scary."

Families said it is not just limited to Shropshire, but it is a nationwide issue.

Lisa Hirst, who is from Birmingham, said her council tax has gone up by £10 a month, even though she 'hasn't had her recycling cleared for twelve months.'

"My income hasn't gone up £10 a month, so where's it coming from?" she said.

"I used to shop on my own, so I shop for myself. [With] £40, I used to struggle to fill a basket, whereas now you're probably putting 10 items and you're over that."

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Originally reported by BBC News