West Country Foodbanks

Record numbers of people are turning to foodbanks in the South West according to the Trussell Trust.

More than 100,000 food parcels were given out in the region last year, which is a 70% increase on the year before. The charity warns that figure is just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

MPs have today been debating foodbanks and the growing number of people using them. In the South West, the charity, The Trussell Trust estimates 45,000 people are using them.

ITV News Westcountry's Ian Axton, has been speaking to Adrian Curtis from the charity:-

Foodbank charity, The Trussell Trust says more than 45,000 people in the region used foodbanks in the last six months of this year.

Its figures show that the South West falls just behind the North East but ahead of the rest of the country in the numbers of people that use foodbanks.

The national trend is a 170% increase on last year. The issue is being debated for the first time in the House of Commons today.

Shadow Home Office Minister, Diana Johnson, wants the government to start an inquiry into the issue:-

45,000 people in our region use foodbanks according to the Trussell Trust charity, which runs food donation programmes across the south west. The situation is being debated in the House of Commons today, 18 December.