Child poverty was increasing in Scotland before the coronavirus pandemic hit, new figures show.

Data released on Thursday shows 26% of children - around 260,000 young people - were living in relative poverty in 2019/20, up from 23% in 2018/19, when around 230,000 children were living in relative poverty.

Households which are in poverty under this measurement have incomes below 60% of the median (middle) UK income.

The 2017 Child Poverty (Scotland) Act, which was supported by all parties at Holyrood, set targets to reduce child poverty to less than 18% by 2024 and less than 10% by 2030.

Campaigners said the latest data is "utterly dismaying” and "deeply disheartening", as they call for the new Scottish child payment benefit to be at least doubled.

Almost 100,000 applications were made for the £10-a-week benefit when it launched earlier this year.

Child Poverty Action Group director John Dickie said: “It is utterly dismaying to see thousands more children across Scotland had been locked in poverty even before the pandemic struck.

“That so many more children face the daily stress of seeing their parents fret over paying bills, buying food or getting into debt should be a source of national shame.

“Behind these statistics are children whose health is being undermined, education diminished and life chances cut short.

“The good news on a day of dismaying statistics is that here in Scotland many families are now already benefiting from the Scottish Government’s new £10-a-week Scottish child payment.

“These new figures demonstrate forcefully why the payment needs to be at the very least doubled as the next vital and urgent step toward meeting the child poverty targets agreed by all the Holyrood parties.

READ MORE: Scotland poverty progress 'worryingly slow' warns Joseph Rowntree Foundation

“We need every level of government working together to end the scandal of child poverty in a rich country.

“This rise in child poverty has been driven by eye-watering cuts to UK family benefits over recent years.

“Action to increase child benefit, end the two-child limit and make the Universal Credit uplift permanent must now also be an absolute priority for UK ministers”.

Claire Telfer, Save the Children’s Head of Scotland said: “It is deeply disheartening that the number of children experiencing poverty in Scotland was rising before the pandemic, and that over one in three homes with babies under one live with poverty.

"It will be another year before we understand the true impact of Covid on poverty. But we know from our work with families that the last year has seen many families struggling with hardship.

Behind the statistics, there are too many families who struggle financially, day in and day out, with far reaching consequences for their children."

Save the Children said it supported over 1,000 Scottish families with young children with emergency grants to help cover essentials, with nearly nine out of ten families spending their grants on food, showing "how basic the needs have been."

Ms Telfer added: "Parents we work with tell us they’re having to go without meals or electricity just to make sure their children have food to eat.

"One mum told us 'I had no idea of how I was supposed to live and how to provide for my child. For about three weeks, I didn’t eat, I had to make a choice between feeding my child and putting money into my gas and electric.'"

Save the Children is urging the next Scottish Government to build on the support available to families and double the value of the Scottish Child Payment for families with young children, as well as accelerating the roll out to families with school-aged children or providing equivalent financial support. 

"History will judge how we handled this pandemic for our children", Ms Telfer added.

"It has been an overwhelming and stressful time for families already struggling on a low income, and we cannot risk plunging even more families into poverty.

"These latest figures should be the catalyst for further action.“