NEARLY one in three residents in the most deprived areas of Wyre Forest are struggling to heat their homes properly, shock new figures show.

With temperatures already having plummeted below zero this winter, energy experts say 27 per cent of homes in wards such as Oldington and Foley Park are living in "fuel poverty". That is where more than 10 per cent of residents' take home pay is spent on keeping warm.

Around one in seven residents throughout the district are in the same situation as a result of poor housing, poverty and heating costs.

The figures were "alarming" said Wyre Forest district councillor Kimberly Poller, who is heading a council blitz on the problem.

She said: "You can imagine it happening in rural areas but Wyre Forest is quite an urban area.

"There are a lot terraced houses, which are very hard to keep warm."

Low incomes and expensive fuel had a role to play, said Fran Dudley, of Wyre Forest Age Concern, although a fear of debt was often to blame for poorly heated homes.

She said: "Often it isn't financial problems. It is people who refuse to turn their heating on because they are worried about high fuel bills."

Pensioners should take advantage of a Government scheme, Stay Warm, where pensioners paid a fixed fee for their heating, she added.

District councillors rubber stamped the Affordable Warmth Strategy, which aims to cut fuel poverty by working with health care providers and promoting initiatives such as fuel grants and advice.

The fuel poverty figures presented to the council were collected under the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure.