Hundreds of excess winter deaths in South Yorkshire could rise on last year

And shocking provisional data for 2016/2017 suggests the new figure could even be higher.

Energy watchdog OFTEC said the unconfirmed stats for last winter show a 'significant rise in winter deaths across the region' with 3,800 recorded in Yorkshire - the second highest level for five years.

They believe the full figures for South Yorkshire could be considerably more when the verified data is released next year.Excess winter deaths are defined as the difference between the number of deaths in the winter months - December to March - compared with the previous August to November and following the April to July.Malcolm Farrow from OFTEC said: “The government’s statistics reveal that, once again, a shockingly high number of people have died unnecessarily. There is clearly still much more to do to ensure the most vulnerable in society are kept warm and well during the winter months.

"The figures indicate that people in rural parts of Britain, such as South Yorkshire, are disproportionally affected because their homes tend to be older with poorer insulation and so are harder to keep warm."This issue is highlighted in the report which states that cold temperatures are associated with increased blood pressure and a lower immune system which puts older and vulnerable people most at risk.“Christmas is an expensive time of year and many struggling families may turn their heating down to save money – even though this can put their health at risk. Whilst there is some good news for households on oil heating who are benefiting from sustained low oil prices and the cheapest fuel bills, it is essential that all households are made aware of the support available to them which is why we have produced our free winter guide.”

It is recommended that you keep the main living room heated to a temperature of at least 21 degrees, adjust the timers on your thermostat as the weather changes, bleeding your radiators to ensure the heating system is running efficiently and turning off radiators in rooms you are not using to save money.