Cost of living: Withernsea residents penniless and 'struggling to live'

Teachers and nurses in an East Yorkshire seaside resort are among those struggling to feed their families, a charity has said.

Jayne Nendick, who has worked at The Shores Centre in Withernsea for 17 years, described the current situation as "a hidden pandemic".

The charity aims to help people manage their money and access low-cost food.

Ms Nendick said the number of people in work they were seeing had risen dramatically.

"The working poor is escalating. They're paying for the fuel to get to work, the nursery costs, the mortgage, and everything else that they haven't got a penny left," she said.

The charity worker also hit back at suggestions that some were taking advantage of the offer of cheaper food.

"We have nurses coming in, teachers coming in, we have people who do long shifts every day. They are on their knees," she said.

"Please trust me on this - I'm not saying this for fun. They are on their knees.

"If they keep hearing comments like 'they don't need it, they need to make life-style adjustments' that is knocking their confidence even more", she added.

The charity said it had doubled the number of food parcels it was giving out, and had also donated 20 microwaves to those in need in recent weeks.

Others, including Lucy Cogle, said the rising cost of energy had left her dreading the coming winter.

Ms Cogle, who sold her house in West Yorkshire about three years ago and bought a static caravan in Withernsea, said her dream had been "to come to the seaside and just enjoy myself,"

However, the retiree, who is registered disabled and in receipt of benefits, said her income would not cover the bills.

She and her partner had already spent last winter freezing in a mouldy, damp caravan because they could not afford to put the heating on, she said.

"We had damp coming up through the windows and side walls [and] we didn't have the heating on.

"I couldn't afford the heating, so I made patchwork blankets for us. The dogs kept us warm," she said.

Living in the caravan was also affecting her health, she said, adding that she was looking to move to a small bungalow.

Ms Cogle described her current accommodation as like living in "a metal tin can".

As soon as you turn the heating off it cools down, she said.

"Now we are just struggling to live."

Paul Whitehead, who runs the Castle Café in the resort, said they were cooking up a plan to "try and feed people for a fiver".

"We are going to have to come up with something home-made and wholesome," adding: "We'll find a way because people are struggling."

Mr Whitehead said there was a real "sense of community" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which he said had taught people how to adapt.

"That sense of community kicked in and it will continue," he added.

"There's a real passion for this place."

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