Scarborough Disability Action Group 'busiest they've ever been'
There's a huge rise in demand for their help
A disability charity in Scarborough says they are the busiest now supporting people than they ever have been.
There are calls for benefit payments to keep up with rising inflation so those who are struggling can survive.
Tim Vasey has worked at Scarborough Disability Action Group for over 30 years and said: "We have noticed quite a significant rise in calls about the cost of living crisis, about the hikes in energy payments and married to the fact that the disability benefits system has a very strict criteria, people are worried about whether they'll both qualify and whether they can maintain their benefits.
"People at the moment are living in constant fear of not being able to afford the essentials of life, not being able to afford to feed themselves, sufficient heating and also to maintain their accommodation needs as well. There's never a point where people can feel 'yeah, now I can concentrate on living my life because I've got a little bit of financial security.'
"I would like to see an acknowledgement that disability benefits do need to keep pace with the rises in inflation and the rises in the cost of living. Disabled people should be able to afford the extra costs of disability without necessarily needing to rely on particular handouts. It should be built in.
"There are worries for the winter both directly the impact on the individual and also if businesses are going to be affected then they're going to put their prices up. It's going to have an indirect knock-on effect for people's purchasing power which is going to decline. The essentials of life are going to go up significantly as well."