These heartwarming pictures show little Jayden Jeal enjoying his first ever birthday party – at the tender age of five.
His parents have never been able to afford one before. They even had to take out a loan to afford this one after scrimping and saving all they could.
Shockingly, the working family is left with £21-a-month of wriggle room for unexpected expenses after paying all their bills.
The Jeals live on a former council estate in Blackburn with mum Sarah, 43, admitting she struggles with anxiety over her money worries.
They are not entitled to any benefits – including a free nursery place for daughter Skye – because dad Michael earns £5 over the threshold.
It means Sarah can't return to work as she can't afford private childcare.
Data collected exclusively for the Daily Mirror's Town 2020 series reveals that Blackburn and the surrounding district is the fourth most deprived area of England.
Most concerning of all is that 52% of children in the Lancashire former mill town are classed as living in poverty.
We want to hear stories from your town. What do you think about it? Are you facing any issues? Email [email protected] or call 0207 293 3018.
Sarah, 43, is happily married to Michael, 34, and they live on the town's Shadsworth Housing Estate, with their two children Jayden, 5, and one-year-old Skye. Mrs Jeal's two older children also live locally.
And they say despite promises from politicians they have never been worse off.
Mrs Jeal admits she “tosses and turns” at night thinking about the family's bills.
"My husband comes home and says there’s no overtime this week and I have to sit and think – what can I cut back on? What’s going?”
She's fortunate never to have to approach a foodbank – saying her mum would never let the family starve.
“We have my mum if I ever get desperate," she said. "She’s always put food in the cupboard, I’m lucky. But then not everyone has a mum."
See how your area ranks for deprivation with the Mirror's exclusive interactive map
The Jeals are up to their eyeballs in debt, trying to make do with little more than the minimum wage.
But they did all they could to throw Jayden his birthday party.
“His friends get presents, decorations, balloons- my son’s never had them," said Mrs Jeal.
"He’s five – I didn’t have the heart to say you can’t have a party like your friends.
“It’s worth it just to see his face, but we’re having to take a loan to do it.”
Mrs Jeal is thrifty and proudly mentions how she managed to make up kids’ party bags from the local discount store at a cost of around £1.90 per child.
If that figure sounds oddly specific – it’s because the Jeals’ budget scrutinises every last penny.
Mrs Jeal says her family has been penalised because her husband earns just £1 over the minimum wage an hour in a job he’s worked at for six years as a medical supplies warehouse operator.
She says the family has lost access to benefits they desperately need because he brings home £5 extra a week in his paypacket.
She's now calling on the Government to end the cruel benefit caps freeze.
She says: “It makes me really, really mad because we’re doing the best we can for our family.”
The family's financial situation even affects the food they eat.
When the family eats chicken as a treat, Mrs Jeal goes without so her husband and children have enough to eat.
“I’m not a big meat eater or anything so if I get something like a chicken I give it to my husband and my kids and I just make do with potatoes and gravy.”
The mum says she is in poor health because of these sacrifices – she struggles to lose weight – finding that healthy food like fruit and vegetables are the most expensive.
Mrs Jeal says that Jayden had the benefit of a free nursery early childhood education when he turned two.
However, his little sister Skye won’t qualify for the free 15 hours a week that could have enabled her to go back to work.
Because her annual wage has risen by £1000 over two years in line with the recent national minimum wage rises, the family no longer qualify for the nursery place – they earn £1000 annually over the threshold.
Mrs Jeal is desperate for her “bright, intelligent” toddler to get the same early education as her son- also pointing out it’s meant to help parents back to work.
Source: Read Full Article
