More than 15,000 children are living in poverty in Wiltshire, new figures reveal.

The End Child Poverty (ECP) coalition say families were already on a "cliff edge" even before the coronavirus pandemic.

Their analysis shows 18,283 children living in low-income families in Wiltshire in 2018-19. This means 19.4% of all those aged 16 and under are living in poverty, though this is a decrease on 2014-15, when it was 22%. The number of children in low-income families in Wiltshire also fell from 20,197 in 2014-15, to 18,283 last year.

Anna Feuchtwang, chair of ECP, said: "The children affected are on a cliff edge, and the pandemic will only sweep them further into danger.

"An ambitious plan to put this shameful situation right would be transformational for millions of children."

ECP are calling on the UK Government to uprate housing assistance in line with inflation, abandon the "unconscionable" planned cuts to Universal Credit, end the benefit cap and the two-child limit on benefits, and increase child benefit.

A DWP spokesman said there are 100,000 fewer children in absolute poverty than in 2009-10. He added: "Making sure every child gets the best start in life is central to our efforts to level up opportunity across the country."