THE number of people in Tendring receiving benefit support for anxiety and depression has more than doubled since before the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

Department for Work and Pensions figures show 1,061 people in Tendring received a Personal Independent Payment (PIP) for anxiety and depression as of April.

These are awarded to people with long-term physical or mental conditions to help them continue with everyday tasks.

This was up from 824 the year before and was more than double the 426 people receiving support in April 2019, before the pandemic.

Across England and Wales, 351,213 people received benefit support for mental health issues in April, which has more than doubled since 2019.