For many, January can be the hardest month of the year - and, to make matters worse, the pay of workers in London has fallen dramatically over the past decade once inflation is taken into account.

According to a new study by the GMB Union, the hard-earned wages of full time employees in the capital fell by 15 per cent compared to 2007 because of inflation.

Only workers from Lewisham and Richmond saw their earnings increase over the ten year period.

The GMB Union's research found that wages in Sutton, Hammersmith and Hillingdon had dropped by as much as 20 per cent.

Warren Kenny, GMB London regional secretary said: "Across London, the real value of average wages for workers are only 84.6 per cent of the buying power they had in 2007 when inflation is factored in.

"The impact on the living standards of ordinary workers of the bankers' recession in 2008 onwards is still with us a decade later.

"Not a single person has been punished by a prison sentence for the recklessness and law breaking that has had catastrophic consequences as these figures show.

"Workers require substantial pay increases to make up the lost ground."