A new report by Christians against Poverty has warned the cost of living crisis is pushing people “to the edge” of suicide.

The debt counselling charity has found that at least 30 per cent of its clients have attempted or considered suicide before seeking help for their debt.

The report also found mental health issues are commonplace among CAP’s clients, with those reporting depression rising by 71 per cent and those experiencing anxiety increasing by 80 per cent.

Gareth McNab, CAP director of external affairs, said, "The reality for families on the lowest incomes is many of them just don't have enough money coming in to be able to run their homes, buy the essentials, and feed themselves and their children."

"We encourage anyone struggling to seek free debt help because we know that with incomes so low, and rapidly rising costs, a lot of families are finding it impossible to stay out of debt and it looks like things are set to get even more difficult this winter," he said.

Calls to CAP’s UK helpline in the first five months of 2022 have also risen by over 40 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

People contacting the charity are increasingly incurring serious debts just to cover basic living costs, rising 14 percent from £5,852 to £6,698 in the last twelve months.

For McNab, fighting the stigma and shame surrounding debt starts with having simple conversations with people around us.

“The fact that it's [the cost of living crisis] affecting everyone does mean that church leaders, members of the congregation and community can now more legitimately start conversations about money in a way that maybe we couldn't before.

“Maybe it's not spoken about very often in your community…but in a cost living crisis, we can start conversations with people that we care about.”

Over the weekend, thousands of people marched in central London over the cost of living crisis.