Many low-income parents in the UK are going without food so their children can eat, according to Christians Against Poverty (CAP).

Polling shows 12 per cent of parents with children under 18 have skipped meals in the past year, while 35 per cent of parents with under-fives struggle with unmanageable debt and 20 per cent cite childcare costs as a barrier to earning more.

Juliette Flach, CAP’s policy and public affairs manager told Premier that childcare costs also "prevent them from increasing their paid employment. So it's definitely an area that some parents are trying to navigate".

Single parents are particularly affected. Nicole, a mother of two, shared how debt forced her to skip meals so her children could eat. CAP helped her become debt-free, allowing her to regain independence and start saving.

CAP is urging the government to provide more support and remove the two-child limit, which affects over 1.6 million children.

Flach added: "parents and carers with more than three children are facing restrictions on the amount of income that they receive, yet there's still the cost that those more than two children need."