THE leader of Carmarthenshire County Council has expressed alarm following the publication of a new report illustrating the high demand for food banks in Wales.

Cllr Kevin Madge said he was shocked to discover more people in Wales used food banks than in Scotland.

Oxfam Cymru's food poverty report, Below the Breadline, was published jointly with the Trussell Trust and Church Action on Poverty last week.

It reveals that food bank use in Wales is disproportionately high given the size of its population.

The Trussell Trust gave out three days’ emergency food to 79,000 people for a population of three million in Wales compared to 71,000 in Scotland which has a population of over five million.

Meanwhile, the combined wealth of the richest ten people in Wales was said to have shot up by £874 million in the past year to over £7 billion.

"My grandmother used to talk about the soup kitchens of the 1930s – it's frightening to think where we are now heading," Cllr Madge told the Guardian.

"What is also concerning is the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots – that is what makes next year's General Election so important when people will be given the chance to get rid of this coalition government."

The report also states that £900 million is set to leave the pockets of the poorest people in Wales in the coming year as benefit and tax credit cuts bite – 31 per cent of Welsh workers were said to be earning less than the living wage and zero hours contracts are on the rise.