Leeds charity left at 'breaking point' given £50,000 by Martin Lewis

A Leeds charity has been given the "lifeline" it needs to continue helping vulnerable people after being given a £50,000 donation by consumer advice expert Martin Lewis.

In response to a post on Twitter about rising energy bills, Money Buddies replied to Mr Lewis saying it was "at breaking point" trying to help the rising number of people in crisis.

The self-styled Money Saving Expert – host of ITV's Martin Lewis Money Show – responded by asking whether £50,000 would help to "get things in place" for the charity.

He then went on to say that the money was "ready to go" and that he would be getting the donation to them straight away.

Sylvia Simpson, who runs the charity, and said she was "overwhelmed".

"I was so so pleased when he sent the tweet, I was ecstatic. It just couldn't have come at a better time.

"I've been working here for 26 years and things have never been so bad. The demand for our services is the worst I've ever seen it and it's not going to get any better.

"We have a really long waiting list of people who are desperate for our help."

Money Buddies has 24 sites across West Yorkshire offering help to anyone struggling to pay off debt, struggling with finances or needing legal advice.

The charity's running costs are around £700,000 a year, but Ms Simpson said every little bit can make a "huge difference".

"The extra money means that we can increase our staff hours, which means we can meet the growing demands on services," she said.

She said the number of requests for the charity's help had doubled since last year, with waiting lists of several weeks.

"We are getting at least one or two people coming to us every day who have been evicted, this is something we have never experienced," she said.

"We're not just seeing people coming through the doors who are on benefits, we're getting people coming to us who are on middle incomes and it's really worrying.

"We know that all of this is just going to get worse as the utility bills go up in April."