Three Hartlepool mums open school uniform bank as average cost reaches £337

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Three Hartlepool mums who have set up a second hand school uniform service have said the numbers of people needing their help has surged over the summer.

Hartlepool Uniform Recycling in Bellevue Community Center collects and donates clothing to ease pressures on parents ahead of the new school term.

Rachael Liddle, one of the mums running the uniform bank, said that parents struggling to cope with rising costs regularly break down in front of them when thinking about another expense that they cannot afford.

Ms Liddle said: "A lady came in with her family, they had just moved to the area, and they were very desperate to find uniforms.

"She asked me how much they were and I told her they were free and she started crying."

She added: "A couple of days ago, we managed to kit a family of six kids out.

"When I caught up with them, they were cuddling each other and crying their eyes out."

The government has recently introduced controls aimed at curbing clothes with logos and requiring schools to keep costs reasonable.

Her colleague Natalie Frankland stresses that it is not enough and that costs can quickly add up.

She said: "You would be looking at anywhere between £35 and £70 for a secondary school blazer with a logo, a jumper for a primary school or secondary school can be anywhere between £15 and £25.

"For school shoes, if you were to buy them from Clarks or somewhere, you would be looking at upwards of £50 for a standard pair of shoes for a primary school aged child."

A recent survey by The Children's Society put the average price of a primary school uniform at £315 - and an average secondary school uniform coming to £337.

Paul Craggs, from Hartlepool, was helped by the mums at the uniform bank for his twin boys who both needed school blazers.

He said: "The biggest disadvantage for me is having two kids the same age.

"There is no ability to pass the uniform down from one [child] to the other.

"It is hard, and I am in employment but there are other families where they will be struggling with where to get their uniforms from, their food from and how they will pay their next energy bill."