CUTS to tax credits will cost North-East families a minimum of £23.72 a week and remove £146m from the region's economy, a union has warned.

GMB says the average loss over time to families in the region will be around £34 per week, with families currently receiving an average of £117.60.

Across the region 148,300 families receive in-work benefits, with 80 per cent due to lose money, according to the union.

Billy Coates, GMB regional secretary, described last week’s budget as a "beautifully crafted con trick" by George Osborne.

"On the one hand he offers a vision of a living wage which is welcome. He confirms what GMB has being saying for some time – the vast majority of employers can afford pay rises and no amount of howling from CBI will alter that fact.

"On the other hand he is taking away money from working families without any guarantee that they will be better off.

"George Osborne is big in attacking working families and young workers but he has yet to take action on the billions of public money flowing out of the country into tax havens because of the abuse of housing benefits income by private landlords."

GMB said child and working tax credits were to be cut four ways - the income threshold for the taper to kick in on tax credits had been cut from £6,420 to £3,850 per year, the taper rate would increase from 41 per cent to 48 per cent, tax credits will be limited to two children for those born after April 2017 and tax credits will be frozen for four years.

Announcing the Budget last week, the Chancellor George Osborne said he wanted to turn Britain into a "high wage, low welfare" economy.

The amount households can receive in benefits will be limited to a maximum of £20,000 a year outside London and £23,000 in the capital.