CUTS in benefits are being blamed for the rise in families in the Borders forced to survive on food handouts.

And, with more changes planned to the welfare system, fears have been voiced that the number of people relying on emergency food aid is only going to rise.

The Trussell Trust, which operates a food bank in Peebles, revealed it received 94 referrals in just three months, between April and September this year. 

That figure, which has "alarmed" local MSP Chirstine Grahame, included 42 children.

Overall, the number of food bank referrals in Scotland has increased to over 60,000 in the last quarter and 44% of these were for benefit delays and cuts. 

Ms Grahame MSP said: “These figures are alarming – they represent 94 occasions where people in the Scottish Borders were in such dire straits that they could not afford to eat and on almost 42 occasions this happened to a family with children. 

"And this only represents figures from the Trussell Trust, which I understand only operates in the Peebles area, so these figures do not take in the rest of the region.

“The figures also show that UK Government benefit changes and delays continue to be the most common reason for people seeking emergency food aid. While Tory Ministers have their head in the sand on the issue, the Scottish Government recognises this link and is spending almost £300 million over three years to mitigate Tory social security cuts. 

“That any government would consider further cuts to the incomes of the poorest families in our society in the face of such clear evidence of rising poverty is appalling – yet George Osborne is set to plough ahead with £12 billion more social security cuts. 

“These new figures will put further pressure on George Osborne to scrap his planned cuts to Tax Credits – we will not let up on our opposition to these callous cuts. And if they do go ahead we stand ready to protect low income households in Scotland.”