Mother-of-two Tracy Ellicott, 37, has seen her fuel and food bills rocket over the past 12 months, while her pay has risen by just £15 a month.

The health worker, who lives in South Oxford, saw her water rates rise 33 per cent in a year.

Energy bills rose 13 per cent, while petrol cost her 14 per cent more than the previous year.

Her food bills have risen 20 per cent, while the cost of childcare for her children, aged five and two, also increased.

She said: "The one thing that hasn't gone up is the rent.

"Because Oxford is such an expensive part of the country, we're living in a two-bedroom house, which is too small for us.

"My partner and I are both public sector workers and we can't afford to rent anything bigger, let alone buy a house.

"I think public sector workers are paying the price of keeping inflation down, because our pay rise, which was staged, was the equivalent of 1.9 per cent.

"It's such a small pay rise I hardly even notice it, compared with the way prices are rising."