AN ANNUAL campaign aimed at keeping elderly people in Cumbria warm and safe during the winter months has been launched.

The Winter Warmth Appeal, which is organised by the Cumbria Community Foundation (CCF), is now in its sixth year.

In 2014, a total of £107,000 was raised.

The CCF said that 900 older people were able to benefit from the generosity of others and added that it hopes to go on to bigger and better things this time around.

Around 300 older people in the county die each year as a result of the cold weather – a fatality rate higher than most other parts of the UK.

One of those who has benefited from funding is Dorothy, a 72-year-old from Cumbria, who has been put forward as a case study.

She was given £125 by her local community centre which was used to pay the bills to heat her home.

She said: “My husband died before the pension age and didn’t work as much when he took ill, so we never had a private pension and I wasn’t left with a lot to help me.

"My son lives locally but works a lot and has his own family to care for.

"As I get older, I find myself needing to stay warmer.

"I have health conditions and I suffer more when it’s cold, but I find myself turning down the radiators in fear of running the bills up.

“The grant from Cumbria Community Foundation gives me peace of mind.

"I don’t have to worry as much and can be happier in my home.”

Andy Beeforth, chief executive officer of the CCF, said: “Every winter, in every corner of Cumbria, there are older people who are struggling to keep warm.

"I can’t bear the fact that they are choosing between eating and heating and hope our community will, once again, share their warmth this winter.

"Please donate to our Winter Warmth Fund.

“We will also be hosting our Big Sleep on Saturday 30 January, 2016 – where people ask their friends and family to sponsor them to spend a night sleeping under the stars in a field behind the Low Wood Resort Hotel in Windermere.”