The charity highlighted pressures being felt by older people this winter with two in five (41%) pensioners saying they had recently had to cut back on heating or powering their home.

The charity said, for those pensioners on low to modest household incomes of £20,000 or less, a massive one in three (35%) said their home was too cold most or all of the time.

Earlier, the charity strongly opposed the cut to the winter fuel payments and warned that at least 2.5 million older people would struggle without it.

This meant since last year, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits would no longer get the annual winter fuel payments, worth between £100 and £300.

Previously, the prime minister Sir Kier Starmer defended the decision to scrap universal winter fuel payments, saying it was needed to repair what he claims is a £22bn “hole” in the public finances.

On Tuesday, it was announced energy bills for a typical household could rise by more than £100 a year in April under regulator Ofgem’s new cap – a higher-than-expected increase adding pressure on people’s finances.

Charities said the price increase would be a painful blow for billpayers.