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Victorian diseases linked to poverty are ­making a huge comeback in Britain.

Cases of rickets, gout, syphilis and scarlet fever have soared since the Tories came to power.

Instances of rickets, a vitamin ­deficiency causing soft bones, have risen by 47% in the past seven years.

Famously, Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is believed to have had it.

Some experts also link rickets to the hard-pressed being unable to afford nutritious food.

Hospital admissions for painful gout, linked to boozing and fatty food, are up 42%.

And cases of syphilis, which killed ­thousands in the 1800s, have more than doubled. Experts largely blame a rise in unprotected sex.

Meanwhile, hospital admissions for the bacterial infection scarlet fever have almost trebled.

Nick Phin, of Public Health England, said: “Measures like ­vaccination, hand hygiene and educating people on the symp-toms of these illnesses can help to save lives.”