THIRTY per cent of children in the borough are living on the brink of poverty according to a campaign group.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty group found there are 20,310 children in families with a low income from a total of 66,860 youngsters across the borough.

For example while in West Wickham only 13 per cent of children (460) are said to live in poverty, in neighbouring ward Crystal Palace there was 64 per cent (1,540).

A two-year project is being launched by the campaign group called 4 in 10: The End Child Poverty London Project, to tackle poverty across the capital.

Director of End Child Poverty Hilary Fisher said: “It is ironic that London is the economic powerhouse of the UK and provides 20 per cent of the UK’s GDP yet it is failing to provide for the hundreds of thousands of children growing up within its limits. ”