Leeds charity Zarach delivers more than 6,000 beds to children in need

• ITV Calendar spent the day with bed poverty charity, Zarach.

"It meant so much to me...I was so proud when I saw it...I just went, 'ah now I can chill in my own bed, now its mine'."

The words of an eight-year-old girl, who, thanks to Leeds charity, Zarach, now has her own bed to sleep in.

Zarach was set up by a primary school teacher to tackle so-called bed poverty in 2018.

As the charity reached its fifth birthday in August it had just delivered its 5,000th bed, half of them in the last 12 months.

Two months later, more than 6,000 children have somewhere to sleep thanks to Zarach.

Ruby is one of those children.

Her mum, Fran, was given an unfurnished council house earlier this year and was unable to afford a bed for her daughter, after a breast cancer diagnosis meant she could no longer work.

Fran said: "I felt guilty. Over the summer I had breast cancer and it was actually far from ideal having Ruby in a bed with me, from a physical point of view as well, it was really uncomfortable.

"I don't know what I would have done without Zarach being able to do this, because I wasn't in a position.

"They came with a bed bundle, which included a pillow, full cover, full mattress, mattress protector, all the sheets, all the bedding, PJs."

The family is not alone – Zarach currently delivers up to 85 bed bundles each week and estimates that by 2027 that number will increase to 1,000 a week nationally.

It was Ruby's school which referred the family to Zarach.

Clare Barker, headteacher at St Joseph's Primary School, said: "We are seeing that the cost of living is having a huge impact on our children, in all ways and actually this is one of those situations.

"We have a lot of children and families, where siblings are sharing and not getting a good night sleep, so yeah, I can see it increasing."

Barnardo's recently commissioned a YouGov survey, which found that of the 1,013 children aged between eight and 17 in Great Britain who took part, around one in 10 (9%) said they had shared a bed with another member of their family because they did not have a bed of their own.

The charity estimates that, nationally, one child in every classroom is either sleeping on the floor or sharing a bed due to poverty.

Craig White, a volunteer at Zarach said: "It does surprise me how many people don't have an adequate bed to sleep on every night, and everybody knows that if you don't get a good nights sleep, everybody is affected, so for a child to not have a good nights sleep, how on earth are they going to be able to do well at school?"

The charity is now hoping to work with more local authorities in Yorkshire to raise awareness of the issue and reduce stigma.

A government spokesperson said: "We are providing record financial support worth around £3,300 per household. We are supporting families with food, clothing and other essential costs like beds through the Household Support Fund."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.