Cost of living: The packs helping families keep warm

Warm packs funded by the Public Health Agency are being handed out at a nursery in Bangor, County Down, to help families struggling to heat their homes this winter.

Project officer Laura Redfern said the packs, which include clothing, a blanket and thermometer, are sent to them every year but the demand has surged this year.

"This year, we had people phoning us from about September- October requesting them as soon as the temperature started to drop and the cost of gas and electric started to go up," she said.

One of those who got a warm pack was Sabrina Lilley.

"I received one for my mum who is 83 and it's really good," she said.

"It's helped her. It has all the warm stuff that she really needs because she's so independent."

The nursery is one of five bases in the Bangor area run by Kilcooley Women's Centre.

Its chief executive Alison Blayney said their energy bills had quadrupled and they are having to support more and more people.

"We have seen an increase in footfall through the centres for people coming to us to keep warm but the biggest challenge for us now is to meet those costs so that we can keep people warm who can't keep warm themselves.

"We have seen our energy costs quadruple."

Gas supplier Firmus Energy is to reduce prices by up to 20% for more than 100,000 customers in Northern Ireland.

The move reflects a fall in wholesale gas prices in recent months.

So could gas prices fall further?

Kevin Shiels of the Ulility Regulator said: "We're watching that and the great thing about the system of regulation in Northern Ireland means that when wholesale prices do fall, we can then pass it through to customers."