'One of the loneliest Christmases I've had'

A young woman, supported by a charity since she was child, has said money worries are a factor as she as attempts to live independently this Christmas.

Holly, 23, who lives in Poole in Dorset, recently found herself homeless and has been sleeping on a friend's sofa for the past three months.

"I think this might be one of the loneliest Christmases I've had," she said.

"I've never really spent Christmas on my own."

A YouGov poll by debt charity StepChange suggested one in four people would struggle to afford Christmas this year.

Holly said she had recently started working at a hotel in Poole, but money was still a huge concern.

"I have about three credit cards, a loan and an overdraft," she said.

"One credit card I was able to pay back and then I cut the card up within a week, [but] I had to order a new one and dip back into it."

Action for Children, which supports Holly, said rising prices were putting pressure on young people and families, especially around the Christmas period.

A YouGov poll found more than one in four people - equivalent to around 14.5m - would struggle to afford Christmas this year, a rise of 1.6m people since last year.

Richard Lane from the debt charity StepChange, which commissioned the poll, said: "People may feel pressured to make Christmas with their loved ones special through gifting and spending money.

"However, we know all too well that the repercussions of relying on credit over the festive season can rear its head in the new year."

Action for Children said one in seven young people feared their parents wouldn't be able to pay household bills because of financial pressures.

And that more than three quarters of teenagers in the south are worried about how their parents or carers will afford Christmas.

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