WORK to tackle child poverty in the North-East must be kept in the spotlight, according a national charity.

Jonathan Ewen, the director of Barnardo’s North-East, said the situation in the region was above the national average.

Speaking at a conference in Hartlepool yesterday, he said the problem was worse than people realised.

He said: “The Comprehensive Spending Review was not as bad as it could have been, but child poverty is a big problem and if it is not tackled it could get worse.

“It doesn’t just affect those who don’t work – a lot of children below the poverty line have working parents.”

The conference allowed people in the town the opportunity to learn how they can contribute to the development of a child poverty strategy for Hartlepool. Nearly one in three children in Hartlepool live in households with an income below the poverty line.

More than 54 per cent of those children are in families that are in employment.

Hartlepool borough councillor Cath Hill said: “Reducing child poverty is not simply about lifting children above an income line.

“It is about transforming the living standards and life chances of disadvantaged families with children in order to break cycles of poverty which have lasted for generations.

“Each and every one of us has a role to play in this.”