FOLLOWING news the number of excess winter deaths in Wales increased by 20 per cent last year, Islwyn MP Chris Evans has backed a campaign to help people struggling to heat their homes.

The Warm and Safe Homes campaign, led by the charity National Energy Action (NEA), aims to highlight what it calls "the desperate and unsafe coping strategies being adopted across the UK due to the misery of living in fuel poverty."

Mr Evans said fuel poverty was "an important issue that we simply cannot ignore."

He added: "Living in a cold home can lead to problems for families and many others including ill health, especially in those who are vulnerable such as older people, young children, and those with long-term sickness and disabilities.”

Of the charity's campaign, he said: "I hope to help NEA shine a light on the desperate and unsafe coping strategies being used by the most vulnerable across the UK this winter. In the UK today, there should be no need for these practices.

"We know the causes, the consequences and the cures, but we risk neglecting millions of people that could be helped with immediate and practical solutions.”

To learn more about the Warm and Safe Homes campaign, visit www.nea.org.uk