The chairwoman of two disability groups has spoken out over how disabled people are struggling through the current bills crisis.

Kathryn Bole is chairwoman of Disability Labour, co-chairwoman of Chronic Illness Inclusion and has also led the Suffolk Coalition of Disabled People.

She says people with disabilities face challenges such as staying warm and keeping vital pieces of equipment charged and running this winter.

Mrs Bole said: "There are so many challenges. If someone has sleep apnea, they may not be able to plug in their apparatus to keep their airway open.

"Anyone who has home dialysis, because of the electric costs, it is a real problem."

Kathryn herself has several disabilities, including fibromyalgia, and said that she struggles to stay warm normally, let alone with the added impact of rising energy bills.

She continued: "If you don't have a car or you have to wait for a bus in the cold, getting to a warm centre can become near impossible, especially if there is not one near.

"For people who have electric scooters or wheelchairs, they need to be charged up to be able to move around.

"If you can't charge the scooter, getting to a food bank or warm bank will become a real task."

Currently, there are 174 warm spaces set to open around Suffolk in the next month but Mrs Bole has said that if there isn't one locally then it could cost a lot of money to be able to access one.

She continued: "People are proud, they don't want handouts, but they are being forced into a situation where they're going to need something.

"We don't need people dying off the back of the number of people lost during the pandemic.

"With people worrying about money and staying warm and things, they then start stressing and their mental health declines.

"Then you have somebody who's at risk of, unfortunately, taking their own life."