Doncaster pensioner spends £150 a week to heat flat

A pensioner says she is spending £150 a week on energy bills for her poorly insulated flat.

Diane Ashmore said she was paying out more than half her pension just to stay warm at the property at Chevet House, Doncaster.

The 70-year-old said she often sees the condensation from her breath as her flat, which has single brick walls, is so cold and her clothes are affected by damp.

She told ITV Calendar that she spends her evenings going to bed at 6pm and watching TV under a quilt instead of relaxing in her living room.

Ms Ashmore pays for her heating through a meter but is constantly having to top it up. Between 1 December and 1 March last year, she spent £3,500 on heating. In one two-day period, she spent £140.

Now the pensioner says she is terrified about her bills for the winter ahead.

"I get £460 a fortnight, and it's costing me £300 at least to heat this property," she said.

"I might as well open my window and throw all my money out because that's where it's going."

Many of the neighbours living in the building run by St Leger Homes Doncaster say they are also paying extortionate amounts just to stay warm.

One woman said she had resorted to heating and staying in a single room to keep costs down.

“In this day and age you should be able to live in a comfortable, warm environment,” Ms Ashmore added.

“I have to go to bed at six o’clock every night to get under the duvet and get warm. I’m only 70, that’s no life. It’s no life living like this… I feel like I’m knocking my head against a brick wall,” she added.

Matt Copeland, from National Energy Action, said new standards needed to be set to improve the quality of housing in the UK, particularly for pensioners.

He said: "We have a very, very poor housing stock in the UK and unfortunately there are still homes that are very inefficient.

"For those homes that are the leakiest that require the most energy to keep warm over the winter you can see these astronomical costs especially in households where the person needs to be warmer than the typical household because of age-related issues or health-related issues."

He added: "We need housing to be appropriate so that energy costs can remain affordable for people."

St Leger Homes Doncaster, which runs Chevet House, said it was reviewing the situation.

A spokesperson said: "We have recently carried out surveys at Chevet House and we are reviewing the findings to determine what work may be recommended.

“We remain committed to supporting our customers and will continue to liaise directly with them and address any concerns.”

• Additional reporting by Harry Harrison, Local Democracy Reporting Service

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