Older people are being urged to make the most of the benefits offered to them during the winter period.

Campaigning with the message "you've got to claim it to gain it", the British Gas Help the Aged Partnership is encouraging elderly people to take the benefits they are entitled to in order to survive the coldest months of the year.

The appeal was made after figures revealed that a fifth (2.5 million) of older people stay or live in just one heated room of their house in order to keep warm and save their heating bills.

Spokesperson for British Gas Help the Aged Partnership Anna Pearson comments: "The government has a potential jackpot of £4.5 billion waiting for older people.

"But it dangles this vital cash behind a complex maze of means-tested benefits and as a result, money continually fails to reach those who need it to survive."

The partnership was set up in 1999 and its benefits advice programme has helped elderly people claim more than £10 million funds.