POOR planning left Brits ten times more likely to die from a cold house than a road accident last winter, says a report.

The Beast from the East in February and March also left thousands of frail and elderly without access to support.

Health and social care services were left “creaking at the seams”, say charities National Energy Action (NEA) and Energy Action Scotland (EAS). They said lessons must be learned to save lives and money in future.

Report author Dr Jamie Leigh Ruse said: “In England alone, between January 1 and March 31, an additional 15,544 deaths occurred.

“Most days in this period saw more deaths than the corresponding day than in any of the previous five years.

“One of the key causes was strategic frameworks for cold weather planning were not applied consistently across the UK.”

Vulnerable people unable to adequately heat homes accounts for 9,700 premature deaths a year.

Dr Ruse said hospital patients were also discharged too early, and to homes with no light or heat.

The EAS said: “While it was welcome to see voluntary and community organisations stepping up, we need to learn from this dire experience.”