OLDER pensioners are being given extra financial aid to ensure for a warmer winter this year.

For the first time, North-East residents aged 80 and over are receiving an automatic £100 on top of their Winter Fuel Payment of £200.

Pensions Minister Malcolm Wicks has pushed for the move to help win what he describes as the "cold war for pensioners", helping heat homes and prevent winter-related illnesses for the most vulnerable.

Mr Wicks arrived in Darlington yesterday to visit the National Winter Fuel Hotline, based in Capita Business Services, at Lingfield Point, McMullen Road.

The centre takes thousands of calls each year, particularly in November and December, about Government payments to help heat people's homes across Britain.

The new 80-plus annual payment will benefit more than 80,000 households in the region and, Mr Wicks said, would help "defeat the notion that older means colder".

He said the move would benefit the more vulnerable and elderly groups which endured little or no heating in their homes during the winter.

Mr Wicks met 80-year-old Rita Gibbons, from Benwell, Newcastle, who received the extra £100 payment.

She said: "It's a great help. You don't have to worry about putting extra money away to prepare for winter."

For more details about the payment and to obtain a claim form, call the helpline on 08459 151515.or visit www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/winterfuel