Thursday, February 25, 2016

Poverty forces pensioners into life of crime

Scores of old age pensioners in Cumbria have been convicted for committing crimes over the past 12 months, according to police figures. Theft was the number-one offence committed. The spate of crimes committed by people in this age bracket could be a direct result of being plunged into poverty, according the UK’s largest charity for older people.

"The majority of elderly people are on a fixed income yet rent and bills and other outgoings continue to rise…They live in destitution and then end up in A&E,” said Hugh Tomlinson, deputy chief officer of Age UK South Lakeland. Mr Tomlinson said the number of elderly people seeking welfare advice and being directed to food banks had spiked in the past 18 months. “People are desperate," he added.


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