Fuel charity says there will be 100 deaths per day from Britain’s big freeze

The death toll from Britain’s recent big freeze could be 100 people per day, it is feared.

Fuel charity National Energy Action said as many as 100 people could die each day in cold homes.

This would mark a significant increase on the five-year average of 80 deaths per day.

It would mean thousands more dying as a result of the cold front dubbed “the beast from the east”.

National Energy Action’s director, Peter Smith, told the Telegraph: “There’s a sense of frustration that Public Health England have been slow out of the blocks in terms of providing advice and guidance around this area.”

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The charity said it expected a “huge increase” in excess winter deaths as a result of the bitterly cold and snowy weather.

At least ten deaths have been attributed to the cold so far, but the final toll is expected to be higher once a clearer picture of the number of fatalities from heart attacks and strokes emerges.

Mr Smith said respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses are exacerbated by cold conditions, particularly among the elderly.

He said that indoor temperatures of less than 12C are likely to cause health risks.

Public Health England responded to the charity’s comments by saying alerts through the Met Office are issued when a forecast indicates temperatures will be at or below 2C for at least 48 hours.

An alert of this kind was issued on Wednesday, February 21 for the period beginning Friday, February 23.

It advised people to look after elderly friends and relatives and those with lung and heart conditions.

Last month, National Energy Action revealed that the UK has the sixth worst rate of excess winter deaths out of 30 European countries.

In the past five years, there has been an average of 32,000 excess winter deaths in the UK every year. Of that figure, 9,700 die due to a cold home.

Provisional figures for 2016/17 indicate there were 37,000 excess winter deaths – 11,000 of which were caused by a cold home.

In 2015/16, there were 28,000 deaths, while in 2014/15 there were 48,000. In 2013/14, which was a mild winter, there were 19,000 deaths.

The figures for 2017/18, including the recent cold weather, will not be published until November.

Mr Smith told Yahoo News: “We would expect the figure to increase considerably for this year.”