Cornwall rural communities with no access to mains gas facing 'tsunami of poverty'
Families and foodbanks have spoken out amid rapidly rising bills
A foodbank in west Cornwall is warning that a 'tsunami of poverty' will hit rural communities if households living without access to mains gas are not given more help.
Many homes in the countryside rely on oil, bottled gas and wood.
They are facing rapidly rising bills, which experts say that is being made worse by the war in Ukraine.
The alternate fuel sources are not covered by Ofgem's increased price cap, that comes into force next month.
Now families and foodbanks in the Duchy have spoken out, including Holly Whitelaw who lives in St Just.
She said: "I can't afford to heat my home, not properly. Not to keep the mould at bay. Not to keep my feet from not going numb so I can't sleep at night" and getting into debt is just debilitating".
'A tsunami of poverty is going to sweep over us'
It is feared 14% of UK households could be facing spiralling energy bills as a result of the conflict.
It has brought volatility to the market, especially for those relying on alternative sources.
Michelle Brown runs a foodbank in Penzance and fears it will cause further problems for families already struggling.
She said: "There's a tsunami of poverty that is going to sweep over us.
"People are having to choose whether to pay their rent, whether to put food on their families' tables and whether to heat; there's no point us sending out foot to people who can't heat it".
Figures from the TUC suggest energy bills are to rise 14 times faster than wages this year.
From April, a typical house will pay almost £2,000 a year for gas and electricity, That is a rise of more than 50% but wages are only expected to go up by less than 4%
The union group wants the government to introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas profits.