Almost 5,000 excess deaths last winter caused by cold and damp homes

Cold and damp homes caused nearly 5,000 excess deaths last winter, according to a campaign group.

The End Fuel Poverty coalition estimate that as many as 4,950 fatalities may have been caused by living in cold homes.

It is a 53 per cent rise on the year before and more than double the figure reported in 2019.

While December 2023 was exceptionally warm, average daily temperatures for the UK in January are forecast to dip as low as -1.6 degrees and fell to -14 in some parts of the UK last night.

Figures released by the charity show that as many as 8.3 million adults in the UK are living in cold or damp homes, which can have a significant impact on health.

Cold homes can cause and worsen respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, poor mental health, dementia and hypothermia as well as cause and slow recovery from injury.

A survey conducted by the campaign in December found that households in London are most likely to be living in cold, damp homes (23 per cent), followed by people in Yorkshire and Humber (22 per cent), the West Midlands (18 per cent) and the North West (17 per cent).

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition describes itself as a broad coalition of more than 70 anti-poverty, health, housing and environmental campaigners, charities, local authorities, trade unions and consumer organisations.