Mind the Gap

This new series of hard-hitting documentaries offers insights into the nature and extent of contemporary poverty.

Each film explores an area of England and records the stories of people who live on or close to the so-called breadline. 

Some contributors live in fear of slipping into debt and poverty; others are already struggling to make ends meet.

We hear powerful personal testimonies and witness lives that can often go unnoticed by the media and wider society. 

Only a dozen Tube stops separate Mayfair and West Ham, but there is a 21 year drop in life expectancy between these two neighbourhoods.

Mind the Gap takes a journey across the London Underground to examine what life is like at these two extremes through the lives of the local people.

Canning Town resident Kevin is hoping to make a new start after battling with alcoholism, but living in an area of high unemployment, high crime levels and a high street lined with betting shops, what does the future hold for him?

Watch the video feature on the BBC News website.