New figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show South West workers are still £38 a week worse off than they were before the financial crash.

The ONS figures show that for the year to April 2017, real wages in the South West were 8.5% below their 2008 level.

Inflation has overtaken wage growth for the last six months across the UK, so the TUC is concerned that next year could be even worse.

TUC Regional Secretary for the South West Nigel Costley said: ‘Most families still haven’t recovered from the financial crash, yet their pay packets have taken another hammering. It’s leaving millions of working people in hardship and pushing them further into debt.’