A MOTHER fears that she won't be able to feed her children after the cost of living increases.

Faye from Fife, Scotland, already relies heavily on Universal Credit Benefits as a way to survive.

But she has just £17 left for food and other household essentials at the end of month once her rent and bills are paid.

The 38-year-old told the Daily Record: “At the moment I am only just managing to keep my head above water and it is a constant stress that I won’t make it through the month.

“I don’t go out, I just pay the bills and shop as basically as I can.

“My daughter has asthma, so I need to heat the house.”

Faye now says she can't sleep over the prospect of being broke after experts predicted that bills could skyrocket up to £1,900.

“I have sleepless nights worrying about what would happen if I didn’t keep enough money by for food and I ended up in a position where social services wanted to take Ayla away,” she added.

“It is a terrifying thought. I could never let it happen but it is the sort of thing that preys on your mind when you are so close to the edge.”

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Faye, who plans to become a teacher, has already said she is feeling the pinch on everyday prices.

She said: “Things like a three-pack of tights used to be £4 but now they cost £7. Vegetables are going up – a bag of potatoes is about £40p more than it was.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot for one thing but it is a lot when it is across the board.

“I am terrified of what will happen when my fixed-cost gas and electricity deal comes to an end in the summer.

 “I pay £150 and if that was to double, as people say it could, it would wipe me out.

“It is obvious that inflation is way above five per cent for ­people on low incomes and the effects are going to be devastating for ­millions of people.”

SHOCK RISE

There's been a worldwide squeeze on gas and energy supplies over the past year – meaning wholesale gas prices have risen to unprecedented levels.

Reasons behind the sharp rise include an especially cold winter last year, a windless summer hampering wind farms and an increase in demand from China.

The price cap, set by energy regulator Ofgem, could rocket to £1,897 for average users, up from its current level of £1,277.

That's an increase of 48 per cent, analysis by industry experts by Cornwall Insight has found.

The estimate falls only slightly short of the most dramatic forecasts suggesting energy bills could hit £2,000 this spring, the Telegraph reports.

Based on forecasts for the gas price from February to July, Cornwall Insight believes the price cap is likely to rise again in October – to £2,054.46.

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