TODAY the Lancashire Telegraph launches a new campaign called Dying From the Cold.

We have been spurred into action by the startling revelation that 38 elderly people have died from cold-related illnesses so far this winter, up 30 per cent compared to the previous year.

It truly is a disgrace that people are dying from the cold in one of the richest countries of the world in 2009.

And we hope that by highlighting this scandal, things will change.

Improving the level of state pension, which is the lowest in the EU, and reducing the cost of energy bills is a big ‘ask’. But we will still seek to get these topics raised in parliament to increase their profile.

And of course another major contributory factor is that people are living longer.

But one thing we can all do is be a better neighbour.

Charities reported many elderly people were ‘vulnerable and forgotten’. Help from neighbours could be the difference between life and death.

The shocking fact that 38 pensioners living among us lost their lives because of the cold should shake us out of our apathy.

So let’s now recapture some of that famous East Lancashire friendliness and look after the elderly in our communities.