Desperate families in the North East are being forced to go without fridge-freezers and are showering in sports centres as bills continue to soar.
Anna Turley, chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, also told how foodbanks in the region were being "overwhelmed" by the level of demand.
Her comments come just days after newly published statistics revealed the North East was the only region to see an increase in child poverty in the last year, with Newcastle and Gateshead seeing the biggest rises of any parts of the UK since 2014.
