A disabled man says it now costs too much to power his electric wheelchair - and fears he may no longer be able to charge a pump that sends helps send fluids around his body.
Peter Wilson says the out-of-control cost of living crisis has seen his bills more than double.
The 54-year-old from Hull, Yorkshire, fears the worst is yet to come as the Government considers real-terms cut to benefits.
Peter - who is unable to work due to a spinal injury and receives Universal Credit and personal independence payments - says he has already accepted he won't be able to use his electric wheelchair for the foreseeable future.
Due to soaring energy bills, he is not even sure if he can carry on using a vital special pump during the night as charging the devices is becoming ever most costly, HullLive reports.
Last year he paid around £80 a month for electricity - and he has been told they will double, despite him using less.
“I’ve got to think about all the medical equipment that’s got to be charged during the day because almost everything I need runs on electricity,” Peter said.
“The batteries and battery pack have got to be recharged in the daytime so that it is ready for when the nurses come at night."
His problems began more than a decade ago when he slipped on a patch of ice and permanently damaged his spine. He needs a stoma bag, has carpal tunnel syndrome - which causes numbness and pain in the hands - and arthritis.
The cost of living crisis means he is increasingly stuck at home.
“I have to try and make savings elsewhere so I now spend more time indoors because I’m so scared about the cost of charging my chair,” Peter added.
He could face a further squeeze on income after Prime Minister Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng failed to rule out real-terms cuts to benefits following last month’s tax-cutting mini-budget. Peter said the lack of clarity was “very worrying”.
“They seem to want people to work, so they pay them less benefit,” he said. "But then for people like me who are unable to work, we have to rely on what we get.
“I don’t feel like enough is being done to help us and it is all very worrying. The worry manifests itself in stress, I’m getting a lot more headaches and I do feel depressed most of the time.”
“My bills now cost around £140, even though I am using less than I did before,” Peter said. “I’ve set the thermostat so the heating won’t go on unless it is very, very cold and I only use hot water to boil a few pans.
“I’m really frightened about what next month’s bills are going to be and it’s getting to the point where I’m going to start missing meals to be able to pay. Even though I have quite an energy efficient table-top oven, if I use it twice a day I know I am just burning through more electric.”
Due to his diabetes and other dietary issues, he needs to stick to a low-fibre diet, which means he has to buy specific, and more expensive, brands of food.
“My total monthly bill is £250 and it might sound a lot for one person, but things are so expensive with food intolerances,” Peter said. “I can’t get a lot of the savers products, such as bread.”
Gordon Brown, the former Labour PM, said it would be “immoral” and “unfair” to break the link between benefits and inflation, which has soared in recent months. Penny Mordaunt, the Tory minister, also called for the link to be maintained.
For Peter, however, the future is "frightening". He said: “I don’t think I will be able to cope if food prices keep increasing along with gas and electric.”
