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Without more Government help, the physical and mental health of Britain’s poorest pensioners will suffer as energy prices and the cost of living soar, protesters said.

Before the latest crisis, more than a million older people in Britain were already living in fuel poverty and many more risked their health by rationing food and heating to keep bills down.

But energy price rises will mean that an increasing number of low-income pensioners, who don’t qualify for benefits, will be pushed into fuel poverty.

Charity bosses insist that the energy bill rebate and other measures recently announced by the Chancellor are not enough to tackle the crisis.

Campaign group Silver Voices recently launched a parliamentary petition to get an £500 increase in the basic state pension but the Government said it had no plans for an increase and added: “We have never paid pensioners more.”

Director Dennis Reed said: “It is no exaggeration to say that lives will be lost because of the energy crisis and the cost of living response to that from the Government.

“Tens of thousands of mostly older people die from cold, or cold as a contributory factor, during winter – and that is going to be more this year.

“If people are not turning their heating on when they are ill, it is going to have a dramatic effect on both their physical and mental health. If you are struggling between what you put in your shopping bag and what you put in the meter, what do you do? The mental health pressure is huge.”

Age UK argued that the energy bill rebate and other measures announced by the Chancellor are “simply not enough”.

Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: “When you have nothing coming in other than your state pension and benefits, what does the Government expect people to do? Forgo their heating, ration their food or go into debt?

“These are the only choices that millions of the less fortunate will face if they have no savings to draw on or family to help them out.

“The cold can be particularly dangerous for older people, espe- cially those with pre-existing health conditions as it tends to increase blood pressure. This means that even a short exposure to cold can have a lasting impact on blood pressure levels for the rest of the day and put people at greater risk of strokes and heart attacks.”

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She said without a better package of support “there’s no doubt it will lead to thousands turning down or forgoing their heating and putting their health at risk.

“The Government must urgently think again and do more to help.”

Mr Reed added there is nothing new in older people having to choose between heating or eating but said “it is going to get dramatically worse”.

He explained his members are only putting the heating on for a few hours at night to take the chill away before bed and wore outdoor clothing indoors.

He said: “In 2022 we should not be in the situation where older people are living in these sorts of conditions.

Where is the dignity in that?

“There is a lot of real hardship out there that is only going to get worse by price increases anticipated in April and October.”

Mr Reed also said removing the mandate to wear masks and the planned lifting of self-isolation rules will not help older people get out more. A quarter are expected to remain cautious and shielding.

He said: “There is a lot of worry out there. The general view of older people I speak to is that the Government is moving too fast to fling off the Covid shackles and that is creating more fear than if a more tempered approach was adopted.

“For older people this is still a serious illness and many are going to remain cautious.”

Mr Reed also said removing the mandate to wear masks and the planned lifting of self-isolation rules will not help older people get out more. A quarter are expected to remain cautious and shielding.

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