MUMS who have ‘put their families first’ say they have fallen unfair victims of the decision to slice child benefits.

From 2013, the coalition government will withdraw child benefit from families where one of parents is a higher-rate taxpayer.

But mums who have cut their hours or given up work to take care of the family say the move is an unfair way of saving the £1billion the Government need to recover.

Phillipa Bargh, 42, went from working full time to a three day week when she had her son Lucas, five.

She said: “I was horrified when I heard the announcement. I have worked all my life and never expected to be penalised when my time to have children arrived.

“I always worked full time and paid high tax and now I have started a family I decided to go part time and my husband brings home the higher wage.

"But because I don’t earn as much now we will suffer when our benefits are cut.”

The cut, worth £1,055 a year for one-child families and almost £2,500 for those with three, will mean that any couple with one earner paid more than the £44,000 higher-rate tax threshold will lose their child benefit, even if the other stays at home to look after children and has no income.

The proposal has provoked a storm of criticism from unions, who point out that a family with both parents earning £43,000 would not lose the benefit.

Phillipa’s husband Andrew, 45, will be earning above the higher tax threshold when the cuts come into place, but her part-time pay will be much lower.

She added: “They should be taking into account the income of a household, not just one person, because for some families like ours, the take-home is far less for one of us.

"The Government should be taking it away only from those families who won’t miss it.”

Mother-of-two Hamera Bano, 31, from Nelson runs Padiham based 24hour Recruitment.

She said the changes were “unfair.”

“Myself and my partner both earn just more than the threshold.

"But I think it is really unfair because our child benefit goes into a separate account and it’s the children’s money.

"It doesn’t make it fair that anyone earning 43k can get the extra, but if your earning 44k then you don’t.

“It would be so frightening to start a family now because bringing up kids is already so expensive.

"The child benefit is the money we know we have to spend on the kids, and I will find it very unfair when it is scrapped for us.”

But East Lancashire's Conservative MPs have defended plans to axe child benefit payments for 1.2million families in a bid to save £1billion annually.

Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry said: “It’s a really, really hard decision. But in a sense everyone’s in favour of spending cuts until it affects them.

“I find it very hard to justify taxing someone on £12,000 a year and giving it back to those on a relatively high income.”

Pendle’s Andrew Stephenson added: “It is tough, but it’s fair.

“None of these things are going to be perfect, and it’s going to be very difficult. But the average income of a household affected by this is £75,000, which is only a small proportion of earners.”

Former Labour MP Kitty Ussher, who now works for the thinktank Demos, also spoke in favour of the move, which she said was ‘absolutely the right thing to do’.

Angela Spindler, CE of Burnley based The Original Factory Shop, said it was about time benefits were cut for those who least need them.

The mother-of-two said: “It’s always laid quite uncomfortably with me that we’ve received benefits, I’ve always donated them to the NSPCC.

"I’m all in favour of saving benefits where we can, so it’s about time the highest earners stopped receiving.

"I think the money should be targeted at those who most need it.”

We asked East Lancashire mum's what they thought.

Katie Wilkinson, 28, unemployed, from Clitheroe, said: “I think it’s right to bring this in because people who earn a lot of money don’t need the help as much as others.”

Westholme School fees secretary Julie Bunyan, 42, of Beardwood, Blackburn, said: “I think it’s a good thing to do and if your partner earns over £44,000 and doesn’t help you out, then you’ve picked the wrong one.”

Susan Kelly, 42, of Darwen, said: “If you’re earning that kind of money you should be OK, but if you’re a stay-at-home mum and your partner is earning the money, have they considered that people have separate accounts and there are a lot of tight husbands?”