Grandparents are running up large debts raising children whose parents cannot look after them, surveys have found.

Nearly 200,000 children in the UK are being raised by a family member other than their parents and findings show the burden often falls on grandparents.

Maureen Seed, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, looked after two of her grandchildren for 16 years because of her daughter’s drug problems.

She amassed about £20,000 of credit card debt and is facing bankruptcy.

Surveys by two family charities of kinship carers – people who look after grandchildren or the children of other family of friends – suggest her case is not unusual.

One found more than a third of carers used a credit card to buy food, while a similar number missed paying a bill.

There is no statutory entitlement for kinship carers and charity Grandparents Plus wants a national minimum allowance introduced to cover the costs of raising a child.

Cheryl Ward, from charity Family Fund, added: “There’s a long-standing issue with support for grandparent carers – they’re not recognised financially, as someone with special guardianship is.”

The Department for Education said it recognised “the crucial role that grandparents play” but local authorities were responsible for advice and support.