THE number of desperate families relying on Largs foodbank has doubled in just one month.

Demand for the lifeline service shot up over the Christmas period as people struggled to deal with the expense of the festive period and the roll out of Universal Credit.

Now a local MP has called for the controversial benefit to be completely scrapped - saying it has cost local taxpayers over £320,000 as the council bail out struggling families.

The charity reported it had saw the number of claimants through its doors since November double, which they believe is a direct result of the new benefit.

Volunteer Simon Dell says they have been busier than ever - with only the kindness shown by the increase in donations seeing them through.

He said: "Our numbers are markedly up, approximately double since mid November.

"We are only open on a Thursday but we can see up to 10 to 15 people each session, compared to the usual five or six we are used to.

"It may be partly due to Universal Credit as existing claimants are moved over from their previous benefits, creating a four to five week delay in payments.

"We can only help with food and toiletry needs but obviously there are other needs that need to be addressed, such as fuel and energy costs.

"There is a definite need for better budgeting skills when it comes to these issues.

"Thankfully we have also been incredibly busy over Christmas with a huge increase in donations coming in. Because of that we were able to give out over 50 special Christmas parcels this year on top of the essentials."

The issue was also raised at the recent Largs Community Council meeting by foodbank representative Kirsten Murray.

She said: "The use of the service in the area has shot up drastically. There needs to be something done to help these people.

"With such a huge increase in claimants, the relief of poverty is more important than ever."

North Ayrshire Council has already forked out over £323,000 to try and mitigate the effect of Universal Credit in the area. Scottish local authorities have spent over £24 million in total helping those on the new benefit.

North Ayrshire MP Patricia Gibson is this week calling for Universal Credit to be halted.

She said: "This is a broken system, leaving people destitute and driving families into poverty and forcing many in North Ayrshire to rely on foodbanks.

"The council has been left to pick up the pieces, having had to shell out £323,000.

"Money is being diverted away from key public services to mitigate the damage caused by this appalling change imposed by the UK Government.

"The solution is to halt the rollout of Universal Credit or better still give all the welfare powers to the Scottish Parliament."

Council leader Joe Cullinane said: “It is absolutely clear that Universal Credit is creating a level of human suffering not seen in this country for decades.

“Families, including many vulnerable people, are being pushed into debt and forced to use foodbanks.

"Universal Credit is a cause of poverty and increased anxiety amongst those who have to claim it.

“Whilst the Tories have deliberately designed a system that creates this hardship, our Labour administration in North Ayrshire is trying to support our residents in any way we can, despite central government austerity putting real financial pressure on the council’s budget.”