A WOMAN has told of wearing up to four layers, covering herself in blankets and using her local food bank to feed her cat as she struggles to afford the rising costs of heating her home or eating meals.

Louise Maddison, from Darlington, has lost two stone in weight since October after struggling to afford the cost of rising food prices.

She wears up to four layers at a time and wraps herself in blankets to keep warm and to prevent her putting the heating on after seeing her bills rocket.

Mini electric heaters are used at a daily rate as it costs less to power the appliance than to fire up the gas central heating.

This is the modern-day reality of the stranglehold the devastating cost of living crisis and rising bills are having on people.

The Northern Echo: Ms Maddison often uses electric heaters instead of the mains heating. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTMs Maddison often uses electric heaters instead of the mains heating. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

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The 50-year-old currently runs Cornerstone Arts – a Darlington-based community venture which showcases the work of local people around the town.

But her work is voluntary and with no income coming in she first visited NQA Foodbank Foodbank in Darlington two months ago.

“I’ve lost two stone since October,” Ms Maddison told The Northern Echo. “I’m on a poverty diet.

“I can’t afford to buy any new clothes and they’re hanging off me. I’m 50 years old, I’ve got a good degree, and I just think how on earth have I got myself in this situation.”

Ms Maddison lives alone and says her volunteer work with the arts venture is her way of giving back to the town. But she says the pressures of increased prices and the choice of whether to ‘heat or eat’ has taken over her life.

“The increase pressures of the cost of living is taking its toll. I’m wearing three or four jumpers and blankets.

“I live on my own with my cat, and how can I explain to it that I can’t feed it properly – it’s tough.”

Ms Maddison says she “couldn’t do without” the help of the foodbank and describes the support it provides to her and others in the town as a “lifeline”

She added: “In this day and age the fact that so many people are having to rely on foodbanks is crazy but its part of the reality now.

“The Government is relying on foodbanks to fill the gap that they aren’t providing.

“More often you are now seeing people using it who have never relied on a foodbank before. It’s affecting everyday people who you think would be donating to foodbanks are using them themselves.”

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The cost of living in the UK is already rising at its fastest pace for almost 30 years but the worst is yet to come with the now-confirmed 54 per cent – or £693 – hike to the energy price cap and the National Insurance increase on the horizon.

For Ms Maddison though, she has been struggling to cope with the current cost of her bills before even considering having to pay even more.

The volunteer worker suffers from multiple forms of ill health and is due to receive her first benefits payment in a couple of weeks.

She added: “We’re at a crisis point. It’s almost like society is breaking down and something is going to implode.

“The Government are lining their own pockets at the cost of the everyday people who voted them in. This is not an equal society; we’re meant to be one nation.

“The way the government treats people who aren’t fit for work is incredulous. It’s those people who fall through the cracks in society and are left-behind.”

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