Thousands of families in Waltham Forest will be left struggling to pay the bills if tax credits are cut tomorrow, it has been warned.

As many as two thirds of the borough’s families will be affected if George Osbourne cuts the ‘lifeline’ benefit in the budget, a children’s charity has said.

Barnardo’s is urging politicians not to cut tax credits following signals from the Government that the benefit will be reduced, with some families possibly losing it completely.

An estimated 21,800 families in Waltham Forest, or 65 per cent, currently use tax credits to top up low incomes.

If the cut goes ahead, 42,300 children in the borough stand to be affected.

Waltham Forest has the sixth highest proportion of families receiving tax credits in the capital, behind only Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney, Barking & Dagenham and Brent.

However, families will be plunged into poverty if the gap is not filled by employers.

A new analysis by the independent think tank the Resolution Foundation has found the minimum wage would have to increase to the equivalent of £22,700 a year if the state top ups were withdrawn.

That is, doubled to £12 per hour.

Tax credits, which include child tax credits and working tax credits, were introduced in 1998 as a response to rising child poverty, caused by low wages and high living costs.

Since the introduction of tax credits, the number of children living in poverty in the UK has fallen from 35 percent to 19 percent.

The cuts are expected as the Tory government looks to cut £12b from the welfare bill.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said: “Without this income, many parents in London could not afford their weekly food shopping let alone school uniforms and books.

“With low wages and high living costs stretching budgets, tax credits are an everyday lifeline for British families.

 “Children who grow up poor are more likely to be ill, do worse at school and be jobless in future. If as a society we fail to invest in children now, we will all bear the costs in the future.”

David Cameron said he wanted to move from a 'low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a high wage, low tax, low welfare' one by increasing people's pay at the bottom so they did not need as much in tax credits.