THE North-East has one of the highest levels of child poverty in the country according to new figures.

The claim comes after it was revealed that Britain has one of the worst rates of child poverty in the industrialised world.

About 3.6 million children, or 28 per cent, are living in poverty despite efforts by the Government to tackle the problem, campaigners End Child Poverty said.

The figures were revealed when the charity visited York last week to highlight the problem through a series of roadshows.

The organisation states that there are a shocking number of parents who cannot afford the basic necessities such as a warm winter coat or three meals a day.

One of the worst hit areas in the region is Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, where as many as 61.4 per cent of children are living in poverty. Neighbouring South Bank has 43.3 per cent living in low income households.

The Bishop Auckland area is also alarmingly high with 49 per cent of youngsters on Woodhouse Close living on benefits.

Redcar and Cleveland Labour Councillor for South Bank, Ian Jeffery, said: "I'm very concerned about these figures and they should be used as a wake-up call to help rid this country of poverty.

"It is no secret that child poverty is alive and well in this area and the Government needs to listen.''

Coun Jeffery said that on-going projects such as Sure Start targeted young people and helped, but there needed to be greater concentration and support for people in poverty.

He said: "They can't get out of it themselves and in my opinion, it's all about redistribution of wealth in this country. The gap between the rich and the poor is as wide as it's ever been. The issue needs to be addressed more seriously."

End Child Poverty campaign manager Laura Payne said that the charity is hoping to keep up the pressure on the Government to stick to its pledge to eradicate poverty by 2020.

She said: "The overall figure for the North-East and North Yorkshire shows that one in three children are affected.

"This is above the national average of one in four.

"In some wards the figures are as high as 70 per cent. This is a really high number of children but we don't see it as the worst in the country. London is probably the worst.''

In Darlington Park East, levels have reached 39 per cent, central Darlington has 38.7 per cent and the Eastbourne area has 34.

In Derwentside Craghead has 40 per cent closely followed by Consett South with 36 per cent.