A mattress on a patch of wasteland that used to be the gardens for Bradbury House (pictured in the background) in Tower Hamlets, east London

Six of the worst 10 areas in the UK for child poverty are in London, new figures show.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty has published a ‘child poverty map’ for the whole of the UK.

The worst local authority area is Tower Hamlets, with 52 per cent of children in poverty based on a family’s income falling below 60 per cent of the average income of £25,000.

The UK average for children in poverty is one in five.

London features heavily among the UK’s most deprived areas, with Islington, Hackney, Westminster and Camden all making the top 10 compilation of local authority areas enduring the biggest proportions of child poverty.

Bethnal Green and Bow was named as the worst parliamentary constituency for child poverty

Alison Garnham, executive director of the campaign, said: “The child poverty map paints a stark picture of a socially segregated Britain where the life chances of millions of children are damaged by poverty and inequality.

“But it also gives us reason for hope. The child poverty target has already been met in the Prime Minister’s constituency and nearly a hundred others, so never let it be said that the targets are impossible to meet.

“If we can do it in Witney today, we can do it in Hackney tomorrow.

“The Prime Minister should make a New Year’s resolution to keep his pledge to ‘make British poverty history’ so that not just children in Witney, but children all over Britain can enjoy a childhood free from poverty.”

She added: “Child poverty costs us billions picking up the pieces of damaged lives and unrealised potential, so it’s a false economy if we don’t prioritise looking after children today.

“Targeting cuts on families will prove both an economic and a social disaster, with businesses losing billions of pounds of demand and families struggling to keep their kids clothed, fed and warm.

“The government urgently needs a serious plan to stop the rise in unemployment and to create jobs so that young people and parents can get out of the dole queue and into the workplace.

“We need a plan to target investment through the family purse to stimulate the economy, so that shops, services and businesses get the customers they need to stay afloat and recruit staff.”