gas canisters before shooting, injuring ten people. a major manhunt is underway. now on bbc news, panorama. the cost of living is rising at its fastest rate for 30 years. £1 .36 left on the gas. it's four days until i get money. and it's freezing. so how is britain coping? i do see my mum skipping meals sometimes. panorama has been following three families through three difficult months. if we are struggling,

how the hell are other people coping? working households stretched to the limit. i can't be at breaking point because i have three children to look after, so i can't break. families pushed to the brink. it's demoralising, it's disheartening, because i'm trying my best and there is only so much i can do. bbc news, official figures show the cost of living in the uk- is increasing at its- fastest pace in 30 years. the cpi measure of inflation... reuben! no more oreos because dinner is ready soon. good. we've got macaroni. early february and another

difficult month for the morse family. i'm lauren. i've got two boys, nine six, reuben and oliver. my husband, daniel, works in bristol as a research scientist. i am self employed, got my own business. we don't live extravagantly. we already by the budget lines, i suppose, when we go to the supermarket. we don't tend to buy branded things. everything is going up. lauren's husband, daniel, has a 75 mile round trip to work. it means fuel is one of the family's biggest expenses. filled up the bike. it was about £18.50, something like that. that will be today and tomorrow and then there will be another

£18.50 on wednesday and another time on friday. it's a lot, isn't it? it's a lot. the couple have just over £2000 a month to spend and after the mortgage, bills and food they have £63 left. right at this moment, as everything stands, we are just about breaking even and that's with daniel in a good job, i am working hard. i couldn't imagine having to choose between heating and eating. it literally fills me with sadness that there are people out there that do.

and i worry so much about other people as well. i think, god, if we are struggling, how the hell are other people coping? i just don't know. there is a perfect storm brewing, the huge risel in energy bills for millions, a rise in national insurance| and inflation hittin- its hi-hest rate for more than 30 years. girls, put your shoes on. emma has three children and works part—time in a local gallery. her husband is a warehouse supervisor and, between them, they take home a little over £2000 a month. rent and bills take nearly all of it.

at the end of each month, we have roughly £100. that has to pay for food and anything that's going on at school. we use a food bank. as far as the weekly food shop goes, that doesn't happen any more. i don't eat like a normal person. on a bad day, i will have a couple of biscuits. my husband doesn't eat breakfast or lunch. hejust has dinner. but that means that the kids get what they need. give us a kiss! all right, see you. the family gets universal credit. that dropped £20 a week when the government withdrew a special covid payment last autumn. i am always worrying about the bills. from the moment i wake up.

it affects your mental health but i think, the way things are at the moment, either way my mental health is going to take a battering. prices have been rising for more than a year due to energy costs and the covid crisis. it's still february and inflation is now at 6.2%, the highest level in a generation. but pay isn't keeping up. we are doing everything we can to get our family out of this situation. i can only begin to imagine what the next few months hold for us. and it's not like i am not trying. we are trying everything we can. it's a struggle. it's horrid. there is no way people should be living like this.

i got paid today and that was gone by lunchtime. i'm not sure if the gas and electric are going to last until next wednesday. so i'll have to be extra careful with that for the next six days. the cost of living crisis is affecting us all, even those with essentialjobs. i'm becky. i'm a single mum with three children. i work part—time as a nurse for radiology for the nhs. in our household, we find it difficult from month to month.

we don't run cars or anything. we use buses occasionally but our main mode of transport is walking or push—bike wherever we need to go. do you believe in teleportation? if we did have it, wouldn't life be easier? because of the cost of childcare, rebecca works three days a week. with a nurse's wage, it's just frustrating that we still don't break even, really. 0k, be a good lad. bye— bye. see you later. thank you. i know it's not going to get any better. so just, you're just having to plan things in your head about how you are going to manage things and what you are going to do.

rising prices are expected to push 1.3 million households into poverty. after paying her mortgage and bills, rebecca is left with £80 a week for everything, including food. i checked the bank balance this morning and we are £7 now in the bank. and that is to last us for ten days until the family allowance comes in. my children are aware that food is a struggle and an issue. i do skip meals so they eat, and they are aware of that. and, er, it's not...

it's not good for them to know that. rebecca is not alone. a recent survey suggests nearly one in ten households may be going hungry because of rising food bills. are you going to have a pizza? i'll get something later. i do see my mum skipping meals sometimes so that we can have ours. and it makes me worry sometimes because i wonder if she's getting enough of what she needs to have. to be all right. i know that you say that you are not hungry at times. am i going to get told off? no, i am genuinely not hungry. 0k, right, 0k. i believe you.

she does try her very best and sometimes, if we don't have much in the cupboards, i let my brother and sister have that and i do worry sometimes, because i worry if we just won't cope. i have been at breaking point but then i can't be at breaking point because i've got three children to look after. so that's how i look at it. i can't break, whatever happens, i have to provide, and i will do. average energy bills are expected to rise between 600 and £700 a year as a result of an announcement by the regulator, 0fgem, later this morning. it's rising energy prices that

emma is really worried about. i am dreading the letter that's coming so much. i have actually got anxiety over the postman now so, if i see the post van outside, my heart is racing until they've gone past the house, because then i know i haven't got a bill coming that day and i've got one more day to breathe. this is our electricity key meter and at the moment there is £2.89 on it. this would last me until the weekend. a pay—as—you—go meter allows people on tight budgets to top up when they have cash, but it's usually the most expensive way to buy energy. ifeel like i'm failing as a parent.

it doesn't matter what i do. at the moment, ijust can't get on top of things, and that's frustrating. mummy, are you having dinnerwith, er, daddy? yeah, probably. i'm weathering the storm but i don't want to be in this position any more. i can't have the kids seeing me like this. it's just too much. ijust want some breathing space. i want things to stop going round in my head. i need to pull myself together.

the price of oil- continues to surge... in wales, the morse family need to fill up the family car. fuel prices have been rising for two years. diesel is now £1.50, so it's a penny up on yesterday. it would have been cheaper yesterday and now it will cost me £73.19 this morning. i haven't even started my day and i'm already £73 down. daniel's wife, lauren, runs a shop. rising living costs mean her customers have less to spend as well. this is my shop. this is my mum. hi! it's all about eco—friendly, plastic free refills, so saving the planet a little step at a time. i opened nearly six months ago

now and in that time, prices have risen dramatically. the rice has gone crazy, the cost of rice is crazy, same in supermarkets as well. we had one day last week, i think we had one customer in all day and it was a scary day. businesses are closing every day. i don't know... i think, if this wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. something else will fall into place, i'm sure. that's what i say right now.

laughs. come back and see me if it has all fallen and i won't be saying that then, i will be crying. inflation rises again, - hitting another 30 year high, driven by rises in the prices. of clothing, energy and food, meaning further pressure - on many households to make ends meet with more rises - to the cost of living expected. it is late february and rebecca, who is a nurse, is struggling to get the basics for her children. i brought her these, probably middle ofjanuary and they started to go a bit. and then they split so i glued them. i think on the second time they broke at school, there was a few snide comments said to her about it, so i relented and i went out to buy some new school shoes. i think they cost £30 but i got

a voucher for £5 off them. still to me that's like... i wouldn't ever, ever pay £30 for a pair of shoes but i did. i've just got a message from my friend magda who said she is going to pop infora minute. one of their neighbours is sometimes given food by friends. she shares what she gets with rebecca. it looks like she might have... she might have something for me, bless her. i know she gets a given thing but she halves it if she has too much and she very kindly passes it on to me, and if i have too much of something, i would do the same to her, give what i've got. she's on her way i think.

hello, i have something for you, have a look. right... have a look. yeah, these are mangoes. wow! yeah, fabulous, tea bags, apples. wow, thank you so much. ruth is going to be happy. you know what she likes! tea bags, fabulous. thank you so much. thank you. you're welcome, take care. i will, thank you. wow. this in itself is like amazing because the tuna and things

like that, that is packed lunches for my children. with the cost of living crisis, i think this is a lot a people's reality. if it is not this, people are in food banks, people are going who don't work, and those who are working are going as well. there is no in between, no differentiation between it. this is your standard food box we take out. in bradford, abdul delivers boxes of free food to people who need it. he doesn't get paid, he does this seven days a week. you have got your two pastas, sauce, beans. then you've got hats and gloves

as well, some people have been inside the house and they don't have the heating on, so this might help them to stay a bit warmer. more and more people are calling on abdul for help. it's getting worse. it's getting really bad. people are crying on the phone, just because they've got no food on the table. it is not people just on benefits, it's everyone really. hi, it's abdulfrom the food bank, i'm on the way to deliver a food box. i should be about ten minutes. see you soon. we are going to a lady who has requested food for herself and her eight—year—old child.

i'll leave it there for you, love. ok, thanks. give me a shout if you get stuck. take care, bye bye. the food is donated. abdul makes about 15 deliveries every day. thank you. no problem. two left. i've never known it as bad as this. it's not good feeling when you go to people's houses and you're dropping off food boxes, and you see

they have children in the house and they have no heating on. we have been delivering since 2020, and since the pandemic we thought it would get better but it's not, it's getting worse, and with the energy rises, it doesn't help and it's going to get much worse. reporter: today at six, russia stepped up its bombardment. of large parts of - ukraine as nato warns the conflict is about to get worse. - it is now in early march and the war in ukraine is dominating the news. despite her money worries, emma is giving what she can. a local pub near us is collecting clothes for ukraine. these clothes are in perfectly good condition. we have got a lot more than what these people have at the moment so i feel... they could use them.

emma's main concerns are closer to home. she has heard from her gas company. i received this e—mail. "as you are probably aware, wholesale energy prices are at an unprecedented high. here is what we think you will pay over the next 12 months. estimated annual cost from the 1st of april 2022 is £1337.56 — the price difference is £552.77. they have got to find nearly £50 a month more. stressed with everything.

it is just getting to me so much and i believe it is making me ill. it's the not knowing and the uncertainty of what is to come. i haven't got a crystal ball, i can't say to my family, "everything will be fine in the next few months," �*cause it probably won't be. it's— it's demoralising, it's disheartening because i'm trying my best and there's only so much i can do. voice waivers. it's heartbreaking. reporter: households are facing the biggest fall in living _ standards on record - despite measures announced by the chancellor... it is now late march, the war in ukraine is forcing

fuel prices still higher. the last time i filled up with fuel was probably about three or four weeks ago, so i'm not looking forward to seeing the price it is now. the government has cut fuel duty by 5p per litre, but prices at the pumps are still 30% higher than a year ago. £79.55. £80! £80 to fill the car. that's nearly a day's salary. daniel and lauren's home energy costs are spiralling as well. to help, the government has offered most families rebates and loans worth £350.

but the morse family will be paying an extra £2000 this year on the energy bill alone. this will be a new direct debit coming out in a few days. £240. we were paying £75 a month. only six months ago. so in a six—month period we have gone from paying to 75 up to £2110 a month. i can't believe were paying £2110 a month for our gas and electricity but there you go, we are. we work hard, get a good job and it's still not enough. reporter: it is seven o'clock on friday - the 1st of april, the headlines. i millions of households will see the biggest rise in energy-

bills in living memory come into force today is a bit - living costs - are also increasing. at the start of april, national insurance, council tax, water bills and car tax all went up. and another large rise in energy bills is predicted for the autumn. the government has introduced measures that it says will protect the poorest. today, benefits went up by 3%, well below inflation. sit down nicely otherwise i'm not reading the story. little nut brown hare, who was going to bed, held on tightly to big nut brown hare's very long ears. price increases are already affecting us. gas and electric is going so much quicker. the food prices, they have jumped up out of nowhere.

i can't even get my head around it right now, i don't know how we are going to get through it. 0ur three families have survived a challenging winter. but for millions of us, there are still tougher times ahead. there is a lot people out there in the same position as myself, and we are all doing our best and working hard to provide for our families, and at the end of the day, it's not enough. there are no words to describe what we are all going through at the moment. i feel really sad about it all, i feel stressed, i feel worried, anxiety. but there have to be better times ahead. there just has to be.

this is bbc news. i'm nancy kacungira. our top stories: president biden has for the first time accused russia of committing genocide in ukraine. i called it genocide because it becomes clearer and clearer he wants genocide for ukraine. britain's prime minister and his chancellor found to have broken the law after breaching the lockdown rules they imposed on the country. i understand the anger many will feel about breaking the rules the government had introduced to protect the public.

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