Almost half of Tottenham’s children and 1 in 3 across the borough lived in poverty in 2013, new figures reveal.

Research from the Loughborough University ranks Tottenham as the eighth worst parliamentary constituency in the UK for child poverty, with 42 per cent of children living below the poverty line.

In the worst areas of London, Bethnal Green and Bow, and Poplar and Limehouse, the figure rises to 49 per cent.

Haringey falls just outside the top ten worst local authority areas for child poverty, ranking eleventh in the UK.

Seven of the ten most poverty-stricken local authority areas are in London.

A spokeswoman for Haringey’s Single Mothers Self Defence campaign group said the figures were astonishing.

She said: “We have to remember that poverty isn’t just a number, it’s a real thing that has real effects on people’s lives.

“We’re seeing a lot of people having breakdowns and suffering depression because when you can’t feed your children breakfast or put the heating on, that’s what happens.”

She added: “We know that this is being made worse by a lot of the benefit changes. People are losing benefits and the bedroom tax has really caused a lot of overcrowding.

“Another thing is the cost of childcare. Really, it’s often just not worth women working because you earn the money just to pay for the childcare.

“Mothers are taking the brunt of the cuts elsewhere – we know that a lot of public sector jobs being cut are women’s jobs.

“Minimum wage, too, is just not enough to live on. You cannot raise a child on £6.50 an hour, it’s just not enough.”

The Rev Paul Nicolson, of campaign group Taxpayers Against Poverty, said that the figure might not even give the full picture.

He said: "Poverty is always worse than the headline figure because of the rent and council tax arrears, utility arrears and high transport costs; they use up income needed for food and cooking it - hence food banks."

David Holmes, chairman of the End Child Poverty campaign, said: “These figures reveal just how widely and deeply child poverty reaches into our communities, even those areas generally regarded as well off.

“Far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living are suffering as a result and missing out on the essentials of a decent childhood that all young people should be entitled to. We can and must do better for our children.”

He added: “We are calling on politicians of all parties to urgently set out a clear roadmap towards ending child poverty which includes the additional actions needed and the measures by which progress will be tracked."