More than 1m poor people with health problems in England at risk from cold

Calls for extra winter help as ONS estimates 1.3m people with heart and breathing conditions living in poverty

More than a million people living with heart and breathing problems could be at greater risk of hospitalisation or death owing to poverty leaving them more likely to be exposed to the cold, figures suggest.

The data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that there are 1.3 million people with cardiovascular and respiratory conditions living in poverty, and that they are more likely to be older people, prompting calls for extra help to deal with the cold weather.