Energy bills to rise by a record £693 for millions of households from this April

Millions of households will see their energy bills hiked by almost £700 from this April, regulator Ofgem has confirmed.

Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1 - an eye-watering rise of around 54%.

Prepayment customers will be worst hit, with an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.