TRIPS to the seaside for families in York could be prohibitively expensive, new research has shown.

Children’s charity Barnardo’s carried out the study which found a day out from York to Scarborough costs upwards of £80, including rail tickets, fish and chips, sun cream and ice creams, and is out of reach of one in five families due to low income.

Steve Oversby, from Barnardo’s in Yorkshire, said: “Our research shows that the poorest families have too little money to cover basic weekly living costs – let alone a trip to the beach.

"The incomes of the UK’s poorest families have declined in recent years. They have been hit hard by a toxic mix of rising living costs and working and non-working benefits cuts.

"A day at the seaside with the family is a day to treasure and has a special place in a child’s memory. Every child deserves to have a day out once in a while, no matter what their circumstances.

"The Prime Minister has put family life at the heart of government and promoted the ‘staycation’. Yet for hundreds of thousands of families struggling to make ends meet this weekend a trip to the pier is but a pipe-dream.”