HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Homes West Midlands is collecting for Worcestershire foodbanks in the run up to Christmas and would like visitors to its three developments in the county to donate what they can.

Tanya Silk, regional sales manager for Barratt , said: "We are pleased to be able to say that we are helping those in the local community who need help getting food to eat this Christmas. The Worcestershire foodbank network is a worthy cause to support and we would urge anybody who has some spare food in the run up to Christmas to drop by our sales centre and donate some food."

The Worcester Foodbank is one of more than 420 foodbanks providing emergency food to people in crisis nationwide and volunteer Grahame Lucas, said: “We are very grateful to Barratt Homes who have offered to collect food for us here in Worcester. At Christmas we always hope to be able to give those little extras which people would not be able to buy normally, so this generous offer is much appreciated.”

There are four foodbanks in Worcestershire at Malvern, Pershore, Kidderminster and Worcester.

Latest statistics show that 13 million people currently live below the poverty line in the UK, with many forced to make the impossible decision of whether to buy food or pay the heating bill. In 2013-14 foodbanks fed 913,138 people in the UK, a figure three times bigger than the previous year. Of those helped, 330,205 were children. The increase is largely down to rising food and fuel prices, static incomes, underemployment and changes to benefits.