A charity is calling for better support for disabled people after a new report found almost a third are living in poverty.

Revitalise, which runs the Jubilee Lodge respite care centre in Chigwell, says vulnerable people and their carers need to be given greater financial support.

The comments follow a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) suggesting 30 per cent of people living with either a disability or a disabled family member are in poverty.

By contrast, 19 per cent of the general population were deemed to be living in poverty, with the JRF study concluding disability is “strongly linked” to poverty.

Revitalise chief executive, Chris Simmonds said: “It is extremely concerning to find 30 per cent of households with disabled members living in poverty – that’s 50 per cent more than households unaffected by disability.

“We are working hard to make our contribution to combatting this and our financial support for respite breaks for those experiencing hardship has increased four-fold over the past five years in response to increasing demand, but clearly more needs to be done in terms of statutory support.”

Revitalise is a registered charity providing respite holidays for disabled people and carers alongside 24-hour nurse care at Jubilee Lodge and two other centres in England.

Each centre offers a wide range of accessible activities and aims to provide a “holiday-style environment” for families using the service.