Shock Telford child poverty figures revealed

A QUARTER OF all children in Telford & Wrekin are living in poverty – nearly double the proportion in the rest of Shropshire.

That is the shocking conclusion of a survey by the End Child Poverty campaign group which fights to give poor families a voice.

The group's study revealed an average of 25 per cent of youngsters in Telford & Wrekin were living in poverty; nearly double the proportion across the rest of the county.

In one area, Woodside, the figure was more than half.

Children are defined as being in poverty if they live in homes with 60 per cent less than the UK mid-income level which latest figures put at £25,948. The figures were recorded last year.

Telford man John Houghton, whose son Mark, 18, hanged himself last September, said the statistic which shocked him particularly was that one in six children in poor families consider suicide.

Mr Houghton, of Hurleybrook Way, Leegomery, said: "Poverty increases the risks children face from effects to their health, getting in-volved with drugs, crime, alcohol, adverse effects to their education and their mental health. There is clearly a link between these statistics and the Index of Multiple Deprivation."

The End Child Poverty figures show the worst child poverty levels in Telford & Wrekin were in Woodside, followed by Malinslee at 43 per cent, Cuckoo Oak at 42 per cent, Brookside and Haygate at 38 per cent and Donnington at 34 per cent.

The lowest levels were in Edgmond at five per cent and Apley Castle at six.

In north Shropshire the highest levels of poverty were in Market Drayton East at 26 per cent.

Councillor Paul Watling, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Deprivation has been a key issue in the borough for a long time and Telford & Wrekin Council and its partners have been focused for many years on tackling the root causes of it, but there is no quick fix."

Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, Shropshire Council cabinet member for children and young people's services, said: "The council is working extremely hard with partners to support children who are living in difficult circumstances."

By Simon Hardy