The punishing cost of childcare is so high that it is outstripping mortgage and rent payments, a local MP has warned.

Parents across the Richmond borough can be paying as much as £1,400 a month for four days of care a week at a nursery.

That is swallowing up a huge slice of family budgets and forcing many parents – particularly mothers - to step away from their careers.

Munira Wilson, the MP for Twickenham, raised the issue this week in Parliament.

She told MPs: "A recent survey by the group PregnantThenScrewed of 27,000 parents found that about two thirds are paying more – or the same - in child care as they are in rent of mortgage.

"This is pushing many mothers out of the workforce or to work fewer hours."

She asked the Equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch: "Does she agree that this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency by this government if we want to keep women in the workforce in well paid jobs?"

The minister insisted the government is taking action on affordable childcare. She said: "We spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements and the government continues to support families with their childcare costs."

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The campaigning group PregnantThenScrewed said women are being pushed into low paid part-time work or out of the labour force because they cannot afford a nursery place.

It rejected the government's stance saying: "Disappointing to again hear the Government state they are doing enough when the evidence clearly shows otherwise."

The group said: "Families are skipping meals or foregoing fuel and heating in order to afford it. Our childcare system is so expensive that it is pushing families into poverty.

"Furthermore, 41per cent of parents tell us there's a six month waiting list at their local childcare provider. And one in five say their local childcare provider has closed down in the past year.

"This is a childcare system that is neither affordable or accessible for working families."