Widow who can't afford to heat her home sits in dressing gown with a hot water bottle

A widow who can't afford to heat her home spends her days wrapped in a dressing gown with a hot water bottle to keep warm.

Gillian Fairbrass, 62, lost her husband on Boxing Day in 2019 and has only recently been able to walk again after being diagnosed with cancer in the same year.

She says she is relying on her late husband's pension to survive - but refuses to turn her heating on to save as much money as possible.

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Gillian, from Hull, told Yorkshire Live that she burst into tears last week when she learnt that the energy price cap was to increase by 54 per cent from April this year.

She said the rise in bills will make her dire situation even worse.

"I cannot afford heating, so I don't put it on," she said.

"I sit in a dressing down to keep myself warm, I'll fill up a hot water bottle."

Tearing up, she added: "It makes me emotional because people have to live and I don't know how I am going to be able to pay for anything.

"Having cancer damaged the nerves in my toes and I could not walk for a while, I only recently regained feeling in them and can walk on them.

"I'm nearly 63 and I should be able to have my heating on."

The 62-year-old says she has been using energy as sparingly as possible and only uses her cooking appliances when she needs to.

The energy price cap increase will affect over 20 million households across the UK adding around £693 to a household's annual bill on average.

The government has vowed to buffer some of the costs, with chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing a £200 rebate on energy bills, which will have to be paid back over the next five years, and a £150 reduction in council tax for millions in