HARD-UP residents are calling Nottingham City Council at a rate of more than one a minute over worries about benefits changes that came into force last month.
The Post can reveal that between April 2 and 16, the council answered 5,300 calls and had 2,854 face-to-face enquiries, meaning it dealt with nearly 750 queries a day.
The remainder of the month was equally busy.
Compared with the same period last year, the service has received 71 per cent more phone calls.
The council has taken on an extra 14 benefits advisers to its team of 58, for the next 11 weeks, to help cope with the demand. Staff have also been working overtime and have cancelled holidays.
Research shows that Government welfare changes, which include changes to Disability Living Allowance, Child Benefit and the Spare Room Subsidy, or Bedroom Tax, will take £120 million out of Nottingham's economy.
Clive Thorpe, 51, of Strelley, is among those affected by the changes.
He is having his housing benefit cut by £10 a week.
He added: "The way I see it, it's the tip of the iceberg.
"People are anxious and so they're going to the council clearly in their thousands.
"Before long, people are going to stand up against this – I can easily see these welfare changes ending up like the Poll Tax, with people taking to the streets."
City council deputy leader Councillor Graham Chapman said: "These welfare changes are unfair and the last thing we need at a time of recession, especially in deprived areas.
"The people most likely to be affected are working families who rely on benefits to supplement their low income. We have prepared for the changes, though, and I'd like to thank our staff who are doing their utmost in difficult circumstances to deal with the high volume of queries."
Deputy chief executive and corporate director for resources Carole Mills said: "Our dedicated team are working long hours and individuals have foregone annual leave to meet customer demand. We're sorry for any delays people experience in the light of such high demand."
It is not just the council that has been seeing more people seeking help following the changes. The number of people going to Framework, a charity that helps homeless and vulnerable people, has also risen.
Service director Dave Smith said: "Compared to last year we have seen the number of people presenting in person at our head office more than double to around 50 per month.
"Likewise, in Nottinghamshire County, our drop-in and surgery services are seeing around 230 people a month – up by 20 per cent since the beginning of the year."
The Government has said the old benefits system was "broken" and that the reforms were needed.
For more information and advice on the welfare changes, visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/welfarechanges or call 0115 9154944.