The people of Stowmarket have been reacting to the cost of living crisis, with one person saying that the soaring costs will leave them "trying to live on £30 a week".

According to the Office for National Statistics, the rate of inflation rose to 5.5% in January, while the Bank of England predicts that it could rise to above 7% this year.

Joann King, who works at House of Flowers, on Stowmarket high street, said that the business "has already" experienced a rise in its costs, including transportation, which will mean "the cost of flowers will have to go up".

She added: "It's going to impact us massively. You'll see that most of the shops around here are shutting down because everything's rising. It's affecting small businesses massively."

William, a local resident said the cost of living crisis has left him struggling to make ends meet. He said: "I'm on universal credit, my rent's £500 and I'm getting £720 a month, and now my electric's gone up.

"I'm on the key meter, I used to put £50 on the key and that would see me through the month, now I'm having to put £90-£100 on there.

"I'm trying to live on about £30 a week."

%image(15108249, type="article-full", alt="William says that the soaring costs will leave him "trying to live on about £30 a week."")

However, fellow residents Cindy and Roger said that, although they will feel the affects of the rise in the cost of living, people need to "prioritise" in order to get through.

They said: "We're having to look at what we buy, with these kind of increases I think everybody whether you've got money or not are being affected.

"But we've been there before, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened and I guess for us at the age we are we've been through it before, we'll get through it.

%image(15108250, type="article-full", alt="Stowmarket high street.")

"That is life, to be honest, very often you have to tighten your belt. You have to prioritise, that's the most important thing, pay the bills first before you think about going out and enjoying yourself."

This was echoed by fellow local Irene, who said she personally is "not really" going to be affected by the rises. She added: "I won't have quite as much money to spend on clothes and things but I've got plenty so it won't really affect me much at all."