The number of people in Kent claiming unemployment benefits has shot up by almost 75% in a month amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In March - as the impact of coronavirus started to be felt across the UK - 32,910 of the county's residents had put in a claim, however this figure has jumped following the lockdown's implementation on March 23.

According to the Office of National Statistics' figures, 57,405 claims were made in April which marks a rise of 74.4% on the previous month.

This means Kent's unemployment has now risen for 21 months in a row.

However the increase in claims from February to March was notably lower, seeing only 325 additional people signing up.

Most claimants in April were in the 25 to 49 age bracket - making up 32,165 of the benefits requests - and men lodged more than 59% of the month's total claims.

The figures for Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks more than doubled over the first full month of lockdown.

Medway saw the largest increase in the number of claims, with a rise of 3,525.

Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, tweeted this morning: "It's hard to tell if this is a permanent or temp figure given Gov has encouraged people to claim UC during this crisis but claimant count in C&A has sadly shot through the roof - 1,305 higher than March 2020.

"Thanks to @JCPinKent for supporting constituents during difficult time."

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