THE coldest winter for decades could kill more than 5,000 pensioners in the region, experts fear.

The warning comes after charities highlighted the North-East and Yorkshire's appalling record on winter deaths.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that about 4,700 elderly people died in the North-East and Yorkshire last winter, an increase of about 800 on the previous winter.

Despite yesterday being the warmest October 27 since records began, forecasters are predicting the coldest winter since the 1960s.

And pensioners' groups fear this could mean many people over the age of 65 will literally freeze to death.

Age Concern director general Gordon Lishman said: "It's a national scandal that so many older people over 65 are put at risk every winter.

"Almost 2.4m older people in Britain live in homes that are cold enough to cause illness and this is just unacceptable."

Another report, published yesterday by Help the Aged and British Gas, reveals that the region has the highest percentage of pensioners living in fuel poverty in the UK.

The document says almost 20 per cent of homes in the North-East and Yorkshire which are occupied by elderly people are cold and poorly insulated.

Mervyn Kohler, regional spokesman for Help the Aged, said the figures were "a scar on society that should shame us all".

He added: "It is inhuman that in the North-East and Yorkshire region in the 21st Century so many older people die needless deaths simply because of the cold.

"Rising fuel costs, coupled with poor housing conditions, are consigning thousands of vulnerable older people to an unnecessary and cruel death.

"At the present rate, by the year 2010, 200,000 older people would have died because of cold-related deaths - a figure roughly the same as the population of York. This is nothing short of obscene."

Charities says Government policy is failing and are urging ministers to increase the basic state pension to at least £109 a week.

They also want politicians to invest more in energy efficiency schemes such as Warm Front.

The figures show the UK has one of the highest rates of cold-related deaths in Europe.

Older people are at a greater risk of such illnesses as pneumonia than in countries such as Finland, where temperatures can fall to -50 degrees Celsius.

Nationally, about 31,600 elderly people died because of the cold last winter.

But the 2004-2005 figure is still below that seen in the winters of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, when there were 46,840 and 48,440 cold-related deaths respectively.

Health Minister Lord Warner said: "It is important to put these figures on winter excess deaths in context and it would be wrong to draw conclusions on a single year's data.

"The number of excess deaths last year is significantly lower than in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, and the long-term trend continues to show a steady decline.

"The NHS is used to planning for winter and this year is no different.

"We closely monitor the impact on NHS services during the winter months and the experience of previous years shows that the NHS takes winter in its stride.

"The causes of excess winter deaths are very complex, but cold weather and illnesses such as flu can play an important part.

"That's why we want to help people to stay healthy during the winter."