Milk, butter, cereal and cheese are among the foods continuing to contribute to sky-high food prices according to a new report - which recorded that a pack of porridge in one supermarket has leapt from £1 to £2.88 in just 12 months.

Consumer organisation Which? also found that while Lidl and Aldi remain the nation's cheapest supermarkets overall their prices rose by more than any other major supermarket it tracked last month.

UK inflation eased in December, says the Office of National Statistics, but cost pressures remain intense for cash-strapped households as food prices hit a 45-year high.

While the price of petrol and energy dropped slightly, high grocery bills and a looming recession are putting UK households in an 'increasingly precarious position' say the authors of this latest cost of living report.

And it is the price of many basic groceries contributing to expensive shopping trips with dairy items including butter, milk and cheese all soaring by 30% year on year alongside the cost of other staple items such as jam, eggs, sugar and chocolate.

Bakery items are also up close to 20% compared to their price a year ago alongside water at 18%, and savour pies, pastries and quiches which also recorded higher than average increases.

When Which? looked at the some of worst examples in these categories for the three months to the end of December 2022, it found a 500g tub of Utterly Butterly saw dramatic price rises at several supermarkets including Waitrose where it went from £1 to £1.95 while at Tesco, its Creamfields French Brie weighing 200G went from 79p to a whopping £1.43.

But the worst individual price hike on a food item across all eight major supermarkets studied was Quaker Oat So Simple Simply Apple at Asda where eight 33g packets of porridge went from £1 on average in December 2021 to an average £2.88 in December 2022 – a sharp increase of 188 per cent.

Across all supermarket ranges says Which? it was the budget and own-brand ranges that also saw higher rates of inflation - rising by between 18% and 20% - compared to price changes in premium and branded counterparts that recorded a price shift of around 12%.

Sue David, head of Which?'s food policy, says it wants to see supermarkets ensuring that budget food lines enabling a healthy diet are widely available, particularly in areas where people need it most, and that promotions are targeted to help people struggling to purchase affordable food.

She explained: "We know food prices have risen exponentially in the last year and our inflation tracker shows the dramatic impact this is having on everyday products at the supermarket.

"Some households are already skipping meals to make ends meet and our findings show trust in supermarkets taking a hit as many people worry they are putting profits before the people suffering during this cost of living crisis.

"Supermarkets must do more, Which? is calling for them to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, particularly in areas where people are most in need, as well as pricing which enables people to easily work out best value and promotions to support people who are particularly struggling."