THE Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) has expressed thanks to everybody who has supported the Surviving Winter appeal.

Through generous donations, the Lawhitton-based charity has collected more than £11,200 so far for grant making.

The campaign, associated with the UK-wide Surviving Winter appeal, is encouraging individuals to make donations to help residents across the county who are suffering throughout the winter due to energy prices, lack of access to hot food and energy-efficiency issues.

A total of 19.1% of households in Cornwall are in fuel poverty.

This issue causes serious health problems, including heart attacks and strokes — around 300 people die unnecessarily each year in Cornwall from the cold. Poor health from a lack of warmth affects another 50,000 people.

Chief executive of the CCF Oliver Baines said: "Winter is a dangerous time for elderly people, who can find surviving the winter a harrowing experience. For them this is a real struggle, trying to strike a balance between paying the heating bills, and staving off coldness and the threat of hypothermia.

"Our response to this is to turn to the generosity of our friends and the public of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly."

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.