Walking to school without a coat, Scarlet Swaddle would often arrive wet and shivering and would wrap her cardigan around herself in an attempt to get warm.

The now-17-year-old told The i Paper she and her siblings have always struggled when it comes to having winter coats and she admits she has now become hardened to the harsh weather and has just got used to suffering the cold.

“My mum is disabled and my dad is her full-time carer so neither of my parents have jobs and we have to rely on benefits,” she explained. “Getting things like winter coats, and even food sometimes, is a struggle.

“Every year it’s an issue as we grow and all need coats of different sizes, but we just can’t afford them so there have been a lot of years when we all didn’t have a coat.

“I remember walking to s

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