Two charities in Norfolk say they've seen parents struggling with the pressures of the pandemic

• Watch Raveena Ghattaura's report for ITV News Anglia

Two charities in Norfolk say they've seen a huge increase in the number of desperate parents struggling with the emotional and financial pressures of the pandemic.

Home Start and Baby Basics, a charity supported by the Duchess of Cambridge, say the number of people in need has doubled since the first lockdown.

And now they're warning that with furlough coming to an end, that demand could increase further.

The charity Home Start Norfolk said 6 out of 10 parents shared significant concerns about their mental health because of the additional stress caused by Covid.

Jamie and Steve from Great Yarmouth have been juggling two babies, isolation, work and no home healthcare visits - and it almost bought them to their knees. 

Penny was born at the start of the first lockdown, and Joshua came along 13 months later 

Steve Crowe said: "It's been real difficult, obviously, you're at work working hard and you come home and it's just straight onto the babies. Jamie's been at home all day, chasing after Penny and trying to look after Josh, but she's done an absolutely amazing job so far. Couldn't be any more proud of her."

Jamie Finch said: "My emotions did take a bit of a dip not long after I had Penny because I was stuck in the house, you have a newborn baby you want to show them off to all your friends and family, that was hard for me."

While Jamie felt trapped indoors, she turned to the Norfolk charity Home Start 

Their volunteers normally visit families in their homes - but during Covid - they offered emotional and practical support over the phone. A lifeline for this family.

Jamie Finch said: "If I didn't have somebody there with some kind of help being on the other end of the phone helping me, you know, just somebody different to talk to, someone to vent to, you know, you're getting an outsider's opinion on things. It helped a lot."

Home Start have seen a surge in demand during the pandemic - and a 70% increase in referrals in the last 5 months from new parents struggling to cope

Daniel Williams, CEO, Home Start Norfolk said: "What we want to do is for people like Jamie and Steve to know that this early intervention service is out there and it's far better if families take agency themselves in their own lives than wait until a crisis situation arises."

For some new parents, financial pressures have left them at crisis point

Baby Basics, based in Dersingham in West Norfolk, provides Moses baskets packed with essential items to vulnerable families

Demand has doubled in the last year, but the charity is worried to the worst is yet to come

Maggie Anderson, Centre Leader, Baby Basics West Norfolk said: "A health visitor said only a few weeks ago that this is the tip of the iceberg. When furlough ends things could get worse. It's the pressures of all sorts of things as people have been made homeless. There's a lot of domestic violence. The increase in domestic violence is huge."

The Duchess of Cambridge supported the charity last year - and continues to do so nationally.

Caring for a new baby comes with challenges, and for some, the pandemic has magnified those problems.

But charities like Home Start and Baby Basics, are helping to make sure those first steps into parenthood are remembered for the right reasons.