Food prices run out of control putting an EXTRA £300 a year on the average family's bill

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The figure, revealed in the Daily Mail Cost of Living Index for August, makes clear that higher food bills are putting the biggest squeeze on family finances since the 1970s.

As a result many have changed their shopping habits, with more than half buying less food while millions are switching to discount ranges and budget grocers.

shop bask

The increases have put £300 a year on to the bills of a family which spent £100 a week on food last year.

This is combining with increases in the cost of heat, light and petrol to push up the total for 'must pay' bills by more than £830 a year.

Once the higher costs of water, council tax, insurance and new fixed-rate mortgages are added to the equation, many household budgets face being tipped into the red.

Just last week, it emerged that the number of homes being repossessed in recent months is up by more than 40 per cent compared with last year.

The data will raise serious questions about the validity of the Government's official measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to be published tomorrow.

The CPI is expected to climb above the 3.8 per cent posted last month and could well hit 4 per cent, double the Government target of 2 per cent.

The Cost of Living Index confirms recent studies by the EU and the OECD that food prices in Britain are rising more quickly than similar economies across the world.

The supermarkets' trade body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) claims the figures would be much higher but for the cut-price offers of the major stores.

Director-general Stephen Robertson said: 'Food prices are rising but retailers are keeping increases well below the extra costs they face.'

However, those items which are purchased every week by millions of households show startling increases, particularly fresh food.

The rise of 24.7 per cent is the highest since the Daily Mail launched the index in association with mySupermarket.co.uk and uSwitch.com in April.