A dad of three who was struggling to feed his family five months ago has spoken out about the cost of living crisis.

Cricklade couple Harry and Kitty Lay have seen their outgoings soar since revealing they were on the brink of poverty in January.

They say that the measures the government have brought in as fuel and food prices rocket have done nothing to help them. 

"Rishi Sunak’s measures are not enough," said Harry. "The £150 council tax rebate is not enough, and it's a loan! It’s a real slap in the face for people."

Read: Working father Harry describes impact 'poverty pandemic' is having on family

Harry said that 18 months ago he was paying between £130-£150 for 500 litres of oil, which would heat his home and would last two or three months.

Now the same amount of oil is costing him £400. 

Swindon Advertiser: Harry and KittyHarry and Kitty

Harry was a part-time cleaner, but has now taken on a full-time job at a dog day care, Kitty is a hairdresser and the family are in receipt of benefits. But, they are still struggling to make ends of meet with Harry revealing they were behind on their electricity bill, which had risen almost 54 per cent. 

"These new measures aren’t helping those desperately in need of help – my priority is to make sure my family are warm and they’re fed. If my electricity bill doesn’t get paid it doesn't get paid – there's only only so many things I can stress about and that won’t be one of them."

Harry contacted his energy supplier - Ecotricity - to explain that he needed help paying his bill and he said the only thing it could do for him was to allow him to move to another supplier. 

He said: "It's the attitude of everyone, the government and the energy suppliers. How do they expect people to afford this?

"Rishi Sunak is a billionaire, he doesn't live in the real world, he doesn't understand what it's like and he doesn't understand the consequences.

"You’re going to have a generation of children grow up in poverty. More and more people will be committing suicide because the worry they’ve got on their shoulders over having to provide for their families is insurmountable,

"You'll see an increase in mental health issues physical health issues, suicide rates, nutritional issues. You'll see lots of children growing up malnourished, with weight issues, diabetes. etc. 

"A large section of society has been abandoned."