Cash-strapped Brits are being forced to use washing up liquid to wash their hair as they cannot afford a bottle of shampoo, a UK charity has revealed.
Freedom4Girls - a charity fighting period poverty - has said that the current soaring cost of living has led to many Brits struggling to afford the price of basic hygiene items, reports The Mirror. The founder of the UK-registered charity has called the situation "heart-breaking", as millions of people across the country are struggling to afford basic items that would be considered household essentials.
It comes as inflation recently reached 9.1 percent - a 40-year high - with millions of households across Scotland struggling to pay for basics such as bills and food.
Tina Leslie, founder of Freedom4Girls, has warned that the situation will only get worse. She said: "“Nobody has got any money left after paying the rent and bills. It’s horrific.
“When you have no money it is hard to keep up with the hygiene products, so people are resorting to desperate measures. You can buy cheapish washing up liquid for around 50 pence. It’s really sad, food banks are giving out washing powder and people are not wanting it because they can’t afford the bills. So they are not even washing their clothes.
“If you cannot afford food then you cannot afford period or hygiene products. When we get hygiene products donated, they fly out.
“One mother said to me, ‘How am I going to keep my kids clean and supply my teenagers with period products when I haven’t got enough money?’
“Everyone is going into debt and the next thing is evictions because people can’t pay council taxes.”
“Everyone is going into debt and the next thing is evictions because people can’t pay council taxes.”
Shadow Leader of the Commons Thangam Debbonaire accused Boris Johnson and his Cabinet of “giving up on governing” as leadership hopefuls try to outdo each other on tax cuts, despite overseeing rises in National Insurance.
She said: “Under their watch taxes are going up and food and energy bills are spiralling out of control.
“Far beyond merely distracted, this is a government paralysed by sleaze, scandal and the ongoing psychodrama that is the Tory leadership contest. They’re out of touch and out of ideas.”
It comes as millions of working families across the country have been hit with some prices rising four times faster than average wages. The TUC has highlighted a host of items soaring out of control.
They include children’s shoes, which are up 8%, toys 5.2%, and kids’ clothes 4.4%. The price of pushchairs and baby car seats leapt by 16.4% in the past year, four times faster than average wages.
Going to the cinema, theatre and concerts is 13.6% times more expensive than a year ago, while eating out in restaurants and cafes will typically knock you back an extra 7.3% in costs.
And the average price of a white sliced loaf of bread has jumped more than 10%, from £1.07 to £1.18.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “No one should struggle to make ends meet.
“But too many working people have been pushed to the brink after more than a decade of standstill wages.”
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