THE NUMBER of children in care has rocketed by a third in a decade leaving the system at breaking point council bosses warned.
A staggering 78,150 are now in care up 3,000 in the past 12 months alone.
The Local Government Association said deep funding cuts combined with soaring demand has put immense pressure on councils.
Cllr Judith Blake, head of the LGAs Children and Young People Board, said: These figures show the sheer scale of the unprecedented demand pressures on childrens services and the care system this decade.
This is unsustainable.
Council bosses urged Boris Johnson to use his review into the social care system to improve services.
They said councils desperately need more cash to properly fund services to intervene earlier so kids dont end up having to go into care.
The alarming figures also found there were over 200,000 cases last year where councils fears a child was suffering serious harm at home.
This is up a staggering 139 per cent over the past 10 years.
While the average age of a child in care has also gone up.
Some 63 per cent are now over 10 years-old, the LGA said.
