MOST children in Britain are “a pay cheque away” from going without essentials like food, a charity has found.

At least 8.6 million children’s families had savings of less than the average monthly income of £1,569 even before the Covid-19 crisis hit, research by Action for Children has revealed.

As many as 63 per cent of children had little or no funding to shield them against the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, the charity said yesterday.