Family incomes fall by £9

Families' disposable income dived by a record £9 a week during January as inflation continued to outstrip wage growth, research has shown.

The average family had 174 a week left to spend after meeting all of their essential outgoings, down from 183 a year ago.

According to supermarket group Asda, it was the 13th consecutive month during which people suffered a year-on-year fall in their disposable income.

It was also the biggest drop recorded since Asda began collecting the data in January 2007.The group said the decline in spending power was caused by prices rising faster than incomes.