TENS of thousands of older people living in Braintree received help to pay their heating bills last winter, new figures show.

As Britons prepare to deal with the colder months and soaring energy bills, charity Age UK said spiralling prices are making it increasingly difficult for older people to heat their homes.

The winter fuel payment is a tax-free annual benefit paid to people over pension credit age to help them with their bills as temperatures drop.

Department for Work and Pensions statistics show 29,213 older people received a winter fuel payment in 2021 – up from 28,890 the year before.

Of them, 7,719 were aged over 80, while a further 6,348 were aged 69 and under.

In Great Britain, 11.2 million payments were made last winter – up slightly on the 11.1 million made the year previous.

The winter fuel payment is made to anyone who was born on or before September 25, 1956 and lived in the UK for at least one day during the qualifying week, which this year was from September 19 to 25.

The amount someone receives depends on their age, household circumstances and the benefits they received in the qualifying week.

Normal payments range between £100 and £300, but the Government uprated these by £300 for 2022-23 due to the cost-of-living crisis.