I work 17 hours a day just to survive ... I'm not really happy

RESIDENTS TELL OF CONTINUING STRUGGLE TO GET BY AMID RISING COSTS

- PAIGE OLDFIELD

A MAN rests on a stool in Rochdale town centre, a sign propped up by his feet. 'Shoe shine, it reads. 'Donations welcome!

He watches legs walk by with a blank stare, only glancing up to give the occasional smile.

A few metres away, a beggar sits in an empty shop doorway. Aside from a few copper coins, his cup remains empty by late afternoon.

Peter O'Gorman thinks it's a sign of the times. "It's terrible," the shopper says as he takes a break outside B&M.

"Everywhere you go in Rochdale you see someone begging. Every time you come here, you see someone new." The 65-year-old thinks rising costs have pushed people to the point of desperation.

While price rises in UK shops have fallen to their lowest rate in almost a year, it's still not enough for those struggling to put food on the table.

New data from the British Retail Consortium shows shop price 6.9 per cent in the year to August, down from 7.6 per cent in July.