More than 200 elderly people a day are forecast to die from cold-related issues this winter, charities are warning.
The three contributing factors are an especially cold winter, soaring fuel prices, (with soaring profits for fuel companies) with increases of up to 20% and reductions of up to 25% in pensioner fuel allowances.
The Mature Times free newspaper is running a Care in the Cold campaign advising its readers how to prevent hypothermia and how to spot it.