HOUSEHOLDS should be encouraged to take up benefits and grants as a way of combating fuel poverty in the county, a report has said.

The lack of access to gas supplies is also a cause of fuel poverty in rural areas, according to the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, in York.

The centre is part of The Energy Partnership and the Energy Saving Trust.

Lance Saxby, local authority support programme co-ordinator for the centre, said: "A household is in fuel poverty if more than ten per cent of its income is needed to be spent on household fuel use."

The report said Scarborough had the highest rate of fuel poverty at 27 per cent, with some wards having as high a figure as 42 per cent.

Craven's average is 22 per cent, Hambleton's 17 per cent, Harrogate 20 per cent, Richmondshire 18 per cent, and Ryedale 22 per cent.

In the City of York, 23 per cent of homes are in the fuel poverty zone.

The findings will enable councils to investigate the best way of targeting households in areas where there is a high incidence of fuel poverty.

In the report, Mr Saxby said: "Tackling fuel poverty is particularly difficult in rural areas. Many rural properties do not have access to gas - the cheapest fuel for heating homes.

"In addition, people in rural areas tend not to claim the benefits to which they are entitled. This also prevents them from accessing energy efficiency grants."