Barbara Knight is one of the 2.75 million pensioners who will struggle to heat their homes this winter.

The 71-year-old widow from North Cheam on the southern fringes of London spends £99 a month on her gas and electricity bills — 12.5 per cent of her income. Her energy supplier, Atlantic, the online division of Scottish and Southern Energy, has increased gas prices by 44 per cent and electricity prices by 33 per cent this year, but Mrs Knight has not yet faced an increase in her monthly direct debit.

“I dread my energy bills going up further,” she said. “I put on extra cardigans, but I need to heat my home — it is not a luxury, but a necessity. I know my direct debits will increase this winter and I don't know how I will afford it.”

Under the Government's Warm Front scheme, Mrs Knight had her 20-year-old boiler replaced, draft excluders placed around the doors and low-energy lightbulbs fitted — all free of charge. “I've done everything I can to minimise my energy costs and make my home more energy efficient, but the bills are still too high,” she said.

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