Cost of living: Ombersley family gets £12k electricity bill

Ian and Kate Clarke have nine daughters, including five still living at home

A family has been left shocked by an estimated annual electricity bill of £12,755.

Since the news Ian Clarke said he had been "religiously" going around their home in Ombserley, Worcestershire, and switching off the lights after his five daughters.

His wife Kate, a part-time carer, said the bill was "very shocking because my salary isn't as much as that".

British Gas said it would not comment on individual cases.

'I wasn't laughing'

The couple have nine daughters, five of whom live at home. Mr Clarke, a vet, said he could not afford such a large bill and his reaction to seeing the forecast was to "just laugh".

"I was at work and I just went round to everybody saying 'that's the bill we've received' and laughing my head off - it was just the silliest thing I had ever seen," he said.

Mrs Clarke said her husband sent her a message before emailing over the proposed bill, saying "you might want to sit down before you look at this".

"I wasn't laughing," she said. "I was quite disturbed really."

Kate Clarke, pictured with a photo of her daughters, said she was shocked by the estimate

Mrs Clarke, who works three days a week, said they "immediately" discussed the bill with British Gas, but she had been left feeling unsettled about the rising energy costs.

She added they had even considered whether it would be cheaper to rent out their house and stay in a hotel.

Mr Clarke said he had been looking at ways to save and using a portable meter to measure the energy consumption of appliances around the house.

"I have started to look at a spreadsheet to look at where the expenses are and I just religiously go round the house turning the lights off after the girls switch them on.

"And we don't put the heating on until there's virtually ice on the inside of the windows."

Mr Clarke has been turning lights off quickly since getting the bill estimate

Energy costs have soared amid the conflict in Ukraine which has reduced supplies of Russian gas.

Some people are starting to receive a larger rebate on their energy bills under the Warm Home Discount scheme and British Gas said customers struggling to pay their bills could get help on its website.