I'm a pensioner who won't be getting the £250 winter fuel payment - it's grim

I've got a one-bed flat in Penzance which only has electricity, not gas. When I took it over the supplier wanted £125 a month. I said that's ridiculous for a place this size, so got it down to £40.

A Cornish pensioner has said she will not be putting the heating on at all this winter as she cannot afford the rising energy bills.

The woman, who lives in a one-bed flat in Penzance, said her electricity bill was initially set at £125 a month when she moved in.

She managed to get it reduced to £40 but said she hardly uses any electricity as she boils a kettle to wash up and doesn't use the immersion heater.

"Last year I thought I would put the heating on, I’ve got a log effect electric fire," she added. "But if I had it on all day it would cost me a tenner.

"I don’t plan to put the heating on at all this winter. Instead, I have a blanket on my sofa, I wear a chunky cardigan, and I change the summer duvet for a winter one.

"I also don’t want to put money into the pockets of the power companies. And I was brought up by my dad that, if there’s a light on, switch it off.

"My income means I just about miss out on pension credit. I got the £250 winter fuel payment last year but now I won’t. It’s grim. There are so many people in the same situation.

"My state pension is £221 a week. I know it is supposed to go up next April, but that won’t help with the winter energy bills.

"I’ve spoken to nurses who have been down here on holiday and they are very concerned about the extra pressure on the NHS by doing away with this payment for so many people.

"It’s got to the point where I’m even thinking of going off-grid: getting a van and building a cabin the woods. Then I would also save on council tax.