Almost three-quarters of people in the Great Yarmouth borough area said they are worse off this year compared to 2021, a Mercury survey has found.

Our survey also found that over half of people in the area will be cutting down their heating usage, while a similar number of people said they will be going out less.

More than 230 people took part in the wide-ranging survey, conducted by this newspaper to assess how people in the borough have been affected by the steep rises in the cost of living.

It also found:

  • One in every 20 people have had to take on a second job
  • Nearly one in five (19pc) had seen their monthly oil bills rise by more than £150
  • More than half (54pc) have limited their food shopping
  • Half of people are cutting down on car journeys (50pc)
  • More than a third of respondents (36pc) also reported that they will not be taking a holiday this year

Rising costs were felt by almost all respondents - only six people (3pc) said they had not seen a rise in bills - and 94pc had seen a rise in food shopping over the past year, while rises in electricity (88pc), as well as petrol and diesel (80pc) were also cited by most people.

Only 8pc said they had noted an increase in their mortgage costs.

But the crisis was felt more among people between the ages of 55 and 64, with 80pc of households saying they were worse off than a year ago - compared with 67pc of those aged between 45 and 54.

Out of 236 respondents, 7pc said they have needed to turn to food banks over the past year.

Of that amount, 22pc of parents with one child have used a food bank and 20pc of parents with four or more children have turned to food banks in the past year. Respondents in the 25 to 34 age category were most likely to use food banks (14pc).

Recently, Potter Heigham resident and former county councillor Paul Rice said he was looking to sell his home to make ends meet.

Our campaign: Helping you through

The Great Yarmouth Mercury has launched a Your Money Matters campaign to address the rising cost of living.

Our reporters will commit to telling your stories, sharing both your struggles and successes.

We want to do more for our readers than just reporting on price increases. We need to help find solutions, ways to make it easier and areas in which we can fight so people can enjoy a better quality of life.

If you run a shop or business in the Great Yarmouth area and have a special offer to promote aimed at easing the burden of the cost of living crisis, contact our reporters on GYMNews@archant.co.uk