Jersey's children's commissioner says a quarter of children in Jersey being in poverty "is a huge red flag for any society".

According to a report by Jersey Community Trust a quarter of households in Jersey are low-income households which Dr Carmel Corrigan said meant they "are in poverty".

She said: "One of our principal concerns would be around the experience of child poverty in Jersey.

"People are very uncomfortable with that term, and they talk about low income and low-income households – which in real terms translates into poverty.

"We know that a quarter of all children in the last household survey were living in households on low income and that should be a very, very big red flag for any society.

"We know for children for instance, that affects things like access to education, the quality of their housing, their diet, food, their access to leisure, it affects a whole wide range of their rights."

The cost of living has been one of the main issues for islanders ahead of Jersey's election with the BBC Jersey election roadshow being told by voters that it was a key concern.

According to Policy Centre Jersey, the cost of living in Jersey is at least 10% higher than in the UK.

It said house prices were slightly higher than in London, 51% higher than in the south east of England and 23% higher than in Guernsey with groceries 14% more expensive than the UK.

The proportion of people who reported that they found it difficult to cope financially ranged from 69% for single parents to 44% for working age people living alone, 35% for couples with children, and 17% for pensioners.

Rose Le Motte has two children and a third on the way with her growing family reliant on her partner's income.

She said: "We are on one single wage so it just gets harder every year and we're finding that the wage is just not increasing like it says it is so money is actually becoming less valuable when you go out and look at all these consumers costs.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I do Olio, I scrimp and save, I make everything from scratch, we would have double [the costs].

"Some of that is to do with the fact we've had two more children but a lot of it is to with the fact that our grocery shop has increased significantly.

"Getting on the property ladder, oh my word, I don't even know if that's going to be possible for us."

Kim Neeson also has a young family and said the cost of childcare was putting families under financial pressure.

"Nursery fees are almost the same as a mortgage so you've got double mortgages when you're trying to be in full time employment and also raising a child at the same time, so costs should be considered in that respect," she said.

"Its too much for families especially if you want more than one child and I definitely think it needs to be looked at, even putting kids into private school is cheaper than putting kids into nursery."

The BBC heard from several people who said they might have to leave the island because of the cost of living.

Toby Cahill Le Brocq, 19, works in the village store in St John's village, he said he loved living in Jersey but felt he may have to move elsewhere.

"The cost of housing is way too much, the cost of food is way too much it needs to be lowered, for my future I'm scared I won't be able to live here and will have to move away and it definitely needs to be addressed," he said.

"I would like to stay full-time. It's home.

"There are the beaches, there's nature. It's good.

"But with the way that things are going right now, it's not looking like a promising future living on the island."

Debbie Krupski, who is 49 and lives in Grouville, said she was facing a similar dilemma.

"It's getting more expensive to be here and I think I'm very invested in being in Jersey, but the conditions out there make me reflect on that and that's very unfortunate, I think a lot of people are feeling like that," she said.

"I'm one of the people who in time will need to [leave Jersey] unless I get some kind of miracle in my life, I won't be able to build it through my career alone."

The head of Jersey's consumer council, Carl Walker, said there were solutions to the cost-of-living crisis the next set of politicians could explore.

He said: "There are levers within the amount of duty that is being charged on fuel that the government could look at to ease the pain for people if the cost of fuel continues to rise because of the problems in Iran."

"I think any new government should want to immediately look at the contract that's been signed with DFDS in terms of imposing a standard freight charge, do some analysis has had it the impact it intended to, is it working?"

"The supermarkets say it isn't, the consumers say it isn't, so let's go and get an independent look at it."

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