THE Quids In Team will be going out into the community to spread the message that "benefits are not charity, they are a right".

So far, £100,000 in council tax and housing benefit has been committed to local pensioners, but the campaign is targeting all sections of society – including the unemployed, part-time workers and parents with young children.

Ms Laherty said there had been "enormous rises" in the number of claimants over the past six months because of job losses.

However, she stressed that even those in employment could still be entitled to help.

And the Quids In Team will also be making special visits to local Children's Centres to advise parents of young children on their entitlements.

Ms Laherty said: "There is a lot of need out there and we wanted to do something that would have a big impact and spread the message as much as possible.

"A lot of people have the attitude that 'I'm managing' and that's what we found with pensioners. And perhaps people are new to the benefits system and aren't aware of what they are entitled to.

"We want to get as many people talking about it a possible so people will be ringing that hotline to find out their entitlement."