Going hungry...over-60s cutting back on food as cost of living bites hard

MILLIONS of cash-strapped pensioners have economised so stringently that they can now only try to make savings on the food shop.

- Sarah O'Grady

Some 29% of over-60s struggling with costs - some 4.2 million people have chosen to go hungry by not buying enough groceries, a shocking Age UK report found.

The figure rises to 40% of over60s living in a household with a maximum £20,000 income at least 1.8 million homes.

Age UK is now calling on the Government to urgently extend targeted support for less affluent pensioners already facing higher energy bills this year.

The charity said that with colder months looming, there is a significant risk many pensioners will see their food budgets as the only flexible outgoing that can be shrunk to balance the books, putting their health at risk.