Kent has seen an alarming surge in food bank use in just three years - from under 200 families two years ago to more than 7,000 in seven months this year alone.

The shocking figures from the Trussel Trust were released today in Green MEP Keith Taylor's 'Hungry Britain' report

They show just 191 people had help from Kent's first Trussel Trust food bank between 2011 and 2012.

That figure increased almost 30 times to 5,422 the following year, as the number of Trussel Trust food banks in the county rose to four.

But between April and November this year the number of people seeking help rose again to 7,015. Now the number of food banks run by the Trussel Trust has risen to six in Kent.

The report claims a third of people using food banks in the South East are facing delays in benefit payments, while almost one in five say low income has forced them to seek help.

Mr Taylor, who is a Green MEP for South East England, says a rising cost in living has led to the surge in people using food banks.

He added: ''To address the food bank epidemic we need to see people paid decent wages and a social security system that doesn't let people slip through the net into desperation''.

Paul Robinson from Medway Food Bank says the organisation has seen a ''three-fold'' increase in the number people seeking help over the last year, with a third of those,1146, being children.

He said: ''Whilst we hear headline figures for the economy improving, for a lot of people times are very tough indeed''.

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