LONE parents in south Swindon are owed millions of pounds in unpaid child support.

Parents who are mostly mothers, in areas including the Parks, Toothill and Dorcan, have been deprived of £3.7m from absent fathers.

And the figures obtained by the Conservative Party show north Swindon single parents are nearly as badly off, as they are owed £3.4m.

South Swindon mothers were owed more money than any parents in any other constituency in the south west.

Mum-of-three Charlotte Bray, from Moredon, says she has been waiting for more than three years for CSA payments for her eldest child, Thomas, who is five.

"These figures don't surprise me," she said.

"I struggle to bring up my children on benefits.

"The CSA seems to be incompetent. It is frustrating and stressful.

"We are told it is law for absent parents to pay maintenance but it doesn't seem to happen."

About 2,800 families in Swindon are waiting for payment from absent fathers, leaving families an average of £2,500 a year out of pocket.

In Wiltshire, the CSA owes families a total of £20.4m.

Charlotte said: "I know so many people who haven't received payment.

"I've been waiting for more than three years now and am no closer to getting payment."

North Swindon MP Michael Wills said his constituents have suffered from the CSA's poor service.

"It is a real problem as some of the parents are desperate," he said.

"Since the CSA was set up under the previous government, it has operated in an appallingly poor manner.

"Since I've been an MP, I've been trying to help parent after parent who has suffered at the CSA's hands.

"Recent reforms are producing some improvement but there is still a long way to go.

"It isn't just the amount of money that is a problem but often the difficulty of getting clear and prompt responses from the CSA."

In June the CSA published a list of 40 parents who have been prosecuted for failing to provide details of their income.

Electrician Benjamin Zaccaro, from Mannington Park, Swindon, was named and shamed by the Child Support Agency for not paying maintenance.

Coun Justin Tomlinson (Con, Abbey Meads) said: "I'm often contacted by frustrated local residents and the £3.3m figures for north Swindon show just how the Government has failed to get to grips with this issue.

"It is unacceptable that those in need of money are failed by the system."