Carers Week: Over one million carers are unpaid in the Calendar region

There's been a call for more to be done to support the thousands of unpaid carers in our region.

It comes as new figures released as part of Carers Week show since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic there's been a dramatic increase in the number of those helping others.

While some are caring for vulnerable people for the first time other carers are finding there's no break for them with many respite centres closed down.

In the Yorkshire and The Humber region it's estimated there are about 458,000 new carers who have started caring since the pandemic started. It's thought there are now overall around 1,296,000 people currently caring unpaid in our area.

The restrictions of the pandemic have affected all of us of course - but for those caring closely for loved ones their hopes and fears for the future must be all the more acute.

But there are services such as Carers Leeds who are supporting people through the difficult times. Steph Ward, a parent support worker, shared her thoughts and advice during this difficult period for carers.