Record cost of feeding your family - bread, cheese and eggs have never been so expensive

The weekly family shop has never been so expensive, official figures have revealed.

Earlier this month the Office for National Statistics warned that food prices are rising at their fastest pace since records began.

But a new breakdown, published yesterday, shows exactly how much the price of basic items which many families buy every week has shot up.

Essentials such as a sliced white loaf of bread, margarine, cheddar cheese and eggs have never been so expensive, according to the ONS.

The sharp increase is hitting families who are already struggling with inflation-busting rises in other household bills.

A typical household which spent £100 a week on food and drink a year ago now has to find another £1,000 this year for the same items.

The ONS, which checks about 120,000 prices every month, shows in its latest breakdown how many have soared over the last 12 months.

In May last year, the average price of an iceberg lettuce was 71p. Last month, the price had shot up to £1.07, a 50 per cent jump.

The price of eggs has also risen sharply, up from £2.01 for a dozen size 2 eggs in May last year to £2.92 last month, an increase of 45 per cent.

Overall, food prices have leapt 8.7 per cent over the period, the fastest rise since ONS records began just over a decade ago.

It is a shock for families who are having to find more money for the same amount of food, or make other cutbacks to be able to afford the same basket of items.

Just two years ago, food prices were falling year-on-year, according to the ONS. The subsequent reverse in that trend has affected a range of products.

The prices of most types of meat, for example, have reached a record level. A kilogram of fresh chicken was £2.21 last May. Twelve months later, it costs £2.71.

The Daily Mail Cost of Living Index is compiled every month with the price comparison websites MySupermarket.co.uk and uSwitch.com.

The index for June showed that the cost of a shopping basket of essentials has shot up almost 20 per cent since last summer.

The June index identifies some startling annual increases. For example, a 500g pack of fusilli pasta is up 12p in a month to 79p. It is 113.5 per cent more expensive than a year ago.

But food and drink are not the only essentials to have become more expensive. The price of diesel has leapt by more than a third in a year, putting up the annual cost of motoring by an average of £340.

There have also been increases to new fixed-rate mortgage costs, and gas and electricity prices.

The problem for Britain's 30million workers is that their pay increases are not keeping up with the rising cost of living.

Average rises of 3.2 per cent across the public and private sector are below the official rate of inflation of 3.3 per cent.