Poverty costs the UK taxpayer £78 billion a year in additional public service spending and lost taxes, according to a new report.

The research, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, estimated an extra £69.2 billion - or £1 in every £5 of public spending - went on areas including healthcare, schooling and policing.

A further £9 billion is either spent on benefits intended to alleviate poverty or in lost tax revenue, the report, entitled Counting the cost of UK poverty, said.