WANSTEAD and Woodford are among the spots in Redbridge hardest hit by the credit crunch, with unemployment tripling in some areas.

Across the borough, dole ques have lengthened by almost 50 per cent in a year, with the number of people claiming Job Seeker Allowance rising from 3,735 to 5,518 from January 2008 to January 2009.

An extra 359 claims were made in one month from December 2008 alone, with some of the highest rises seen in the Wanstead and Woodford area.

Monkhams was worst hit ward with a massive increase of 186 per cent, followed by Church End with 94 per cent, Wanstead with 60 per cent and Snaresbrook with 58 per cent.

And as the data is only collated quarterly, it is expected that the true picture on the ground could be even more bleak.

Carer Karen Witchell, of Hornbeam Road, Woodford Green, has been unemployed for the past eight months.

She said: "There's definitely less jobs now than there were last year and when you go to the Job Centre there's hardly anything.

"At the moment I am just struggling to pay the mortgage and keep level.

"There's also a lot more competition for the jobs that are there and they all get snapped up in a second."

The report, titled 'Supporting the Community through the Recession,' also stated that eight people in the borough have been made homeless in the last year as a result of mortgage arrears, and that theft from shops, burglaries, fraud and forgery have all risen by 19 per cent each.

To tackle the increase in workload council staff are facing due to the number of new benefit claims being made, the Department for Work and Pensions has allocated Redbridge with a one-off payment of £177,000, which will be used to increase resources and improve processing times.

And as forecasters predict that one in five shops and offices in the town centres could close, both consumers and retailers will be encouraged to shop locally in order to help keep small business afloat.

Church End Ward councillor Richard Hoskins said: "The rapid rise in unemployment here in Church End show just how vulnabural we are.

"Our residents have the highest percentage of graduates and higher education holders in the borough by the last statistics I saw.

"The tragic shake out taking place in the city financial sector puts hundreds of jobs held by local people at risk.

"The knock on effect is also being felt as a whole range businesses cut back or worse closed down altogether.

"Shops across the borough are pulling down their shutters.

"Woolworths is the biggest local casualty so far. More will follow.

"This depression or really recession has a long way to run yet.

"Peoples lives and future careers are going to be disrupted in ways we have never seen in our lifetimes."