The costs of going swimming can be prohibitive for some parents

A report by Save the Children and Glasgow University said there were barriers to youngsters taking part in activities most took for granted.

Some children were unable to take advantage of free services because they could not afford the costs of travel, equipment or something to eat.

Save the Children said quality services needed to be accessible to all.

The report said some children were also being denied access to dentists and local shops.

Safety concerns

It said schools played a vital role in offering health and leisure opportunities to children from low-income households.

Factors which made it harder for such children to use services included poor access to transport, safety concerns, lack of information, lack of self-confidence and limited service provision, the report said.

Glasgow University's Fiona Wager, the main author of the report said: "For many of the young people I spoke to, it was the first time that they'd been listened to in this way.

It is a disgrace that 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty Douglas Hamilton Save the Children

"They have made it clear that they are not accessing services and we need to hear what they are saying so that we know how to remove the barriers they encounter.

"Listening to children's own experiences and perceptions is an important means of increasing our understanding of the issues that children from lower income households in Scotland are facing in terms of their access to services."

Douglas Hamilton, head of policy and research for Save the Children, said: "It is a disgrace that 250,000 children in Scotland live in poverty.

"What makes it more disgraceful, is that those children are not able to access the services that are supposed to be there to help them."