'Hell in a handcart!' Eamonn Holmes calls for 'fracking' to boost economy: 'Stop taking money, start making it!

He said: "I want to see two bins. A red bin full of money they're taking off us and a green bin, and that's the money we're generating, the money that we're making.

"Spending in the local community and supporting restaurants and that sort of thing.

"I tell you, the trouble with politicians is they all know how to take your money away, but not one of them knows how to create it.

"The only thing I can think of at the minute is something like fracking, which no one will go for.

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"Well, how else are you going to make money for the country? How else are you going to do this? We're going to have to just bite the bullet on this one and do some fracking."

He later added: "We seem to be going to hell in a handcart."

His comments come as households across the UK face a wave of bill increases from today.

Council tax, energy, water, TV licence, car tax, and broadband bills are all rising.

The exact amount extra that consumers will pay depends on where they live and their personal circumstances.

Despite some respite - including an increase in the minimum wage and a modest rise in most benefits - budgets are expected to be squeezed.

Consumer expert Harry Kind told BBC Breakfast that "Awful April is a bit of an opportunity April" as there are ways to make savings.

He noted that millions are already overpaying on bills, and changes made now will last the whole year.

"There are plenty of fixed terms lower than the cap," he said.

"Prices have come down a lot in the past few years," Kind explained.

For food prices, he recommended shopping around and said there's "a lot of money to be saved" by online shopping.