Almost one in every two young people in parts of Trowbridge and Melksham are in poverty – double the national average.

Figures released by Wiltshire Council show that 44.3 per cent of youngsters on The Forest estate in north east Melksham are in poverty, while Studley Green, in Trowbridge, comes a close second at 43.1 per cent.

Lower Studley and the Seymour estate in Trowbridge are well above the national average of 22 per cent and the Wiltshire average of 11 per cent. A mum-of-five from Studley Green, who does not want to be named, said: “I find it extremely difficult getting by. I can’t remember the last time I took my poor kids to the seaside. That’s the sort of things they should be doing but I have to take every week as it comes and just make the most of what we have at home. When you’ve done the bills you have nothing left to play with.

“I have never really known anything different on this estate. I thought at one stage the area was coming up but it hasn’t. You see a lot of people around here who are in the same boat, some even worse.”

Child poverty is measured by how many under 16s live in households where annual income is below £13,680, or 60 per cent of the national average income of £22,800.

The highest levels of poverty in Wiltshire are in areas with the highest levels of deprivation, with the Seymour and Studley Green estates in the top 20 per cent most deprived in Britain.

Overall, Wiltshire was more deprived last year than it was in 2007, with 14 of its council wards in the 30 per cent most deprived in England.

The biggest cause of child poverty is unemployment, a report by NHS Wiltshire, compiled on 2008 figures, has revealed.

John Alford, chairman of Studley Green Tenants and Residents Association, said: “A lot of people here were once employed by Ushers and Bowyers, and more recently Virgin, which all closed down and left a big jobs gap on the estate.

“Trowbridge badly needs new businesses to kickstart it again. Once we have those we’ll be in a better place to change things. In the meantime we’ve got to keep trying to do our bit to improve the estate.

“We’ve already set up a computer club where people are learning new skills to help them get into employment.”

Melksham town councillor Vic Oakman, who is chairman of the Selwood Tenants Voice group and the residents association for the Forest estate in Melksham, said: “Any parent with compassion will want to make sure that their children are warm, clothed and fed, but it comes with a price, and, with the cost of everything rising, it is only getting more difficult for them.

“Many people on the estate are on prepayment meters because it is the only way they can pay for their utility supplies but they are paying through the nose for it.”

On the basis on the NHS report, Wiltshire councillors have approved a new plan – the Reducing Child Poverty Strategy – in a bid to tackle the county’s poverty hot spots.

Cllr Lionel Grundy, cabinet member for children’s services, said: “You can be quite comfortable that it is only 11 per cent in Wiltshire as an average but we will be looking at areas where it is higher.

“We will be looking at what it is about these areas that leaves a greater number of children in poverty.”

The council says it has five priorities – providing extra support for families of 0-five-year-olds; getting more children to leave school with the skills they need for working life; tackling unemployment by encouraging new jobs and improving workforce skills; helping people in their own community, and working closer with other organisations.

The plan, however, follows news that Wiltshire Council is closing its three Connexions careers advice centres, including the branch at Wicker Hill in Trowbridge, in a bid to save £400,000 this year.