Features

According to the government’s latest figures, one in four of the north west’s children live below this poverty line. Child poverty charities like Barnardos believe the real figure is closer to one in three.

In her house on an estate in Burnley, 12 year old Katy is looking at the damp coming through the walls of her bedroom. “I think it’s terrible really. It’s not the place for a little girl to be sleeping,” says Katy. “I could get pneumonia or something.”

In the next bedroom, 13 year old Steve shares a double bed with his 11 year old brother Ben. “And some spiders,” he adds. Like his sister’s room, there’s damp and flaking plaster on the walls. “My friends always say I’m scruffy, and I live in a dustbin,” says Katy. “It’s not really our fault because we can’t afford much.”

Animated films by a team at MMU.

This is the reality of child poverty in the 21st century.

North West Tonight has asked a team of animators at Manchester Metropolitan University to help illustrate these real life stories. Watch these films to see how children cope with hardship, bullying, homelessness and crime.

You’re classed as living below the poverty line if your family income is 60% or less than average income (median). In real terms, that means bringing up a family of four on eleven pounds each per day.

For the last two years, child poverty has risen slightly. And as the credit crunch squeezes family budgets, charities say the problem is getting worse.

North West Tonight would like to thank Claire Thomas, Pollyanna Coupland, Alex Humphreys, Eleanor Mulhearn, Ben Thompson, Rob Dixon and Josh Armitage of Manchester Metropolitan University who made the four animated films.