A TOTAL of 800 Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants were issued for hard-up Borderers during the three months of 2019 up to October.

The payments cover essentials such as food, heating costs, and household necessities.

And they show a 17 percent increase in demand from the same three-month period of last year.

Local MSP Christine Grahame believes the impact from Brexit will see the need for payments from the Scottish Welfare Fund continue to grow.

And she is calling for the Scottish government to have full controls over social security.

The SNP member for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, told us: "The Scottish Welfare Fund is a vital lifeline for many people facing poverty or crisis.

“But the fact that so many households in the Borders have been forced to turn to the fund for emergency financial help is extremely concerning.

“The Scottish Government spends millions every year shielding Scots from UK Government welfare cuts.

"That our devolved Government should have to protect its citizens from the cruelty of the UK state is unacceptable and unsustainable.

“And with the threat of Brexit still alive – the risk is real that tens of thousands more people could be pushed into poverty in Scotland, and left at the mercy of this heartless Tory government.

“Only with full powers over social security can we begin to make Scotland an equal country with a dignified and fair welfare system. Until then, the SNP will continue to do everything in our power to tackle poverty and support low income families.”

Since its launch in April 2013, the Scottish Welfare Fund has paid out almost £220 million to over 357,000 households across the country – with 19,455 households in the Borders receiving help from the Scottish government fund.

In total a third of households receiving awards were families with children.