A shocking picture of poverty pay across Britain has been revealed in research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Almost half of workers are paid less than the living wage of £7.65 an hour in some parts of the country.

And for female workers the picture is even worse.

The figures are revealed on the 15th anniversary of the introduction of the minimum wage and the second week of the TUC’s Fair Pay Fortnight which runs until Sunday.

Nationally on average one in five jobs pays less than the living wage, which in London £8.80 an hour.

Across Britain around five million people are paid less than the living wage.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Extending the living wage is a vital way of tackling the growing problem of in-work poverty across Britain.

“Working families are experiencing the biggest pressure on their living standards since Victorian times.

“Pay has been squeezed at all levels below the boardroom and it’s costing our economy dear.”

The TUC used government figures in its research, which is broken down on the basis of Parliamentary constituencies.

Kingswood near Bristol tops the list of living wage blackspots with 48 per cent of people working there earning less than £7.65 an hour, followed by Chingford and Woodford Green in north-east London where 43.4 per cent of jobs pay less than the living wage.

Other worst-hit areas are Harrow West in north-west London, Sefton Central on Merseyside, Dwyfor Meirionnydd in North Wales, Rhondda in South Wales, Blackpool South, West Lancashire, Bexleyheath and Crayford in south-east London and Wells in Somerset.

They will be among the areas that will today see major pay protests staged today by local government workers outside town halls and workplaces.

Unison said their members have seen their pay slashed by 18 per cent since the minimum wage was introduced in 1999.

Head of local government Heather Wakefield said: “The National Minimum Wage was introduced to protect workers who are most vulnerable to low pay.

“It was not designed as a tool to benchmark the pay of skilled workers delivering essential public services.”