A COLD winter brought a ‘shameful’ rise in deaths across Oxfordshire, Age UK Oxfordshire has claimed.
The Oxfordshire register for births and deaths recorded 1,460 deaths in the county from January to March this year.
The figure is up by 146 deaths on the same period last year.
Chief executive of Age UK Oxfordshire based in Abingdon, Paul Cann, said the cold winter meant old and vulnerable people couldn’t cope.
He said: “This is a disgrace. These figures shame us all.
“At the moment it is a case of heating or eating.”
He said damp and cold homes in Oxfordshire need to be better insulated.
Mr Cann added: “People don’t claim what they are entitled to. There are discounts available to some people but they don’t know these things.
“£5.5bn a year of pensioner benefits go unclaimed.”
Age UK Oxfordshire offe help and advice to people at ageuk.org.uk/oxfordshire
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