AN East Lancashire "postcode lottery" means pensioners and the needy are missing out on cold weather grants from the government.

Officials calculate the temperature in Blackburn with Darwen and the Ribble Valley from a weather station in the milder coastal town of Crosby on Merseyside - a decision branded "ludicrous" by TV weatherman John Kettley.

This means residents in those areas get less money than those living in Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, where the temperature is measured from the colder West Yorkshire town of Bingley.

The payments scheme was launched by ministers to help the poorest people in society stay warm in the winter and can be worth up to £8.50 per week.

Payments, available for people on benefits and pensioners on a low incomes, are triggered when temperatures dip below freezing for seven consecutive days.

Weatherman John Kettley, who went to school in Todmorden, said "For East Lancashire, although Bingley seems like a long way off, it is a reasonable comparison.

"Comparing a coastal area like Crosby to a place like Blackburn is a ludicrous decision. It is just not suitable at all.

"They are completely different.

"In the winter western coastal towns are much more mild and although they may be windy this often bring warm temperatures from the Irish Sea.

"In towns like Blackburn the cold air comes down off the hills and into the valleys making the area very cold."

Hyndburn has just been included in the Bingley weather centre by the government. Previously it was also measured from Crosby.

This move followed a campaign by Baxenden resident Anne Hindle.

The 70-year-old grandmother said: "When I found out that East Lancashire was divided like this I couldn't believe it.

"It seems like a postcode lottery. You can lose out just because of where you live in the area.

"It is far colder here than it is on the coast near Merseyside. It just doesn't seem fair."

Campaigning by Hyndburn MP Greg Pope saw the borough reclassified, but he says that it needs to go further.

He said: "We've just had a cold snap and I'm sure that everybody has been putting their heat up.

"But for people who are struggling to make ends meet this time of year can be a nightmare.

"They shouldn't be frightened to put the heating on and that's what the cold weather payments are for.

"Clearly the situation in East Lancashire is not ideal. Until recently I didn't realise how few weather stations there are in the country.

"The comparison between the mild Merseyside coast and this region is wrong. It is not right to be linked to that area."

Patrick Collister, of Age Concern Hyndburn, said: "As the winter weather begins to get colder, it is important that our older people are able to keep safe and warm.

"The decision to link Hyndburn with the Bingley weather station is certainly good news in so far as it will give a better reflection of the climate of Hyndburn and will therefore enabale our older people to receive the support that they need."

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said that he was unaware of the problem but would take up the issue with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Government office that controls the payments.

Cash for the cold weather payments, which are in addition to the winter fuel payments scheme, is paid directly into a claimant's bank account.

The money is available to people aged 60 or over, people with a child aged under five and the long-term sick or disabled.

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