Easington Colliery residents in a 'food desert' and need help

More needs to be done to help shoppers on low incomes living in "food deserts" far away from supermarkets, academics, charities and consumer groups say.

Research has found the north-east of England has some of the worst access to cheap and healthy food in the country.

In Easington Colliery the nearest supermarkets are a bus ride away.

Julie Laidler, who runs the Café Together charity project, said some residents had no choice but to walk to shops up to three miles outside town.

"To get food at a cheaper price they have to go out of the colliery," she said.

Going by bus or taxi "takes the money out of what they've got for food shopping", she added.

The research by the University of Leeds and consumer organisation Which? found nearly half the North East was in "dire need of extra support".

Easington Colliery residents said they wanted to support their local general store to ensure it remains open.

Owner Darren Johnson said bills were rising and shopkeepers also had to survive.

"It's generally getting a lot harder to keep your prices down because you have to pass your costs on to the customer," he said.

"You can't get away from it - it's either heating or eating."

Neil McLaren, who lives in the town, said a lot of its shops had not been able to compete with supermarkets and had been forced to close.

Residents are now faced with the choice between higher prices locally or paying bus or taxi fares in order to reach the cheaper supermarkets.

The research concluded residents had relatively poor access to online deliveries, and were deterred by delivery charges and minimum spend limits.

They were also further away from supermarkets and were more likely to be eligible for foodbanks and free school meals.

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