A mental health charity has said the number of people using its advocacy service tripled after cuts were made to council tax benefit in 2012.

Lynnette Charles, operations services manager at Mind in Haringey, said increasing numbers of people were “struggling with their mental health” as a “direct result” of changes to tax benefit.

Ms  Charles wrote a letter to Rev Paul Nicolson in support of his campaign to increase council tax benefit for low-earners or the unemployed.

She said staff at the charity had seen a marked deterioration in the mental health of the poorest residents of Haringey.

Last month, Mind lost Haringey Council funding it has received for 23 years and announced it would be forced to stop providing advocacy services for adults at the end of the year.

The council said it has to make changes due to the Care Act 2014, set to come into force next April, and that its contract with Mind will be retendered in December.

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: “We offer a range of advice services for people experiencing financial difficulty and would encourage them to contact us as early as possible so that we can provide appropriate support.”