A REPORT has shown that nearly a quarter of children in a part of Chard are living in poverty.

Statistics revealed by the Campaign to End Child Poverty show that 23 per cent of children in the Chard Holyrood district council ward were deemed to be impoverished last year – the highest percentage figure across South Somerset.

Figures for other areas of Chard were as follows: Avishayes 17 per cent; Combe 16 per cent; Jocelyn 16 per cent; Crimchard 13 per cent.

The figure for child poverty in Ilminster matched that of South Somerset as a whole – 12 per cent. That rose to 13 per cent in Crewkerne.

The South Somerset district had the lowest percentage of any district across the county. Other districts within the county saw West Somerset with 17 per cent, 16 per cent in Sedgemoor, and 13 per cent in Taunton Deane and Mendip.