Family breakdowns, divorce and an increase in the number of people moving to new areas to find work, has left abandoned pensioners alone with no-one to care for them.

An ageing population has created a boost in the number of pensioners in need of help with basic care. However, a collapse in the traditional extended family where younger relatives share the care of their elders, has left fewer people both able and willing to act as carers, meaning pensioners now rely on those in social care jobs instead. 

According to a report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), those who have been carers for family members have been left both physically and emotionally overwhelmed and have experienced growing feelings of 'resentment' and 'isolation'.

CSJ executive director Gavin Poole told the Daily Express: "One in five pensioners live below the poverty line. Although ministers are rightly working to deal with our economic deficit, this report reveals there is a social deficit that also needs tackling.

It is thought that the number of older people in need of care is likely to rise by 1.7 million over the next 20 years, with the number of over 75s living alone likely to increase by more than 40 per cent during the same period.

Dot Gibson general secretary for the National Pensioners Convention said: "The Big Society idea is relying on families to care for older people in the future, but families may simply not be there."