Eating disorder charity, Beat, has seen an increase in people seeking help for ARFID, an avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.

Andrew Radford, chief executive of Beat, said: “It’s extremely worrying that there has been such a dramatic increase in those seeking support for ARFID, particularly as specialist care isn’t always readily available.

“All too often we hear from people who have been unable to get treatment close to home, or have faced waits of months or even years to get the help they need.”

Of the 2,000 calls the charity received last year, 10% of them were from people suffering from ARFID.