"I'm getting really cold," said Julie, who had just been discharged from hospital as she battles with lung cancer. "I've just turned the heating off because I know I can't afford to keep it on."
Julie Cooch, 67, has lived in the Ravenhill area of Fforestfach, Swansea for thirteen years and moved into her council house on Rhodfa'r Brain five years ago. Despite needing to keep warm for her recovery, her heating bills are too high to heat her home properly. Julie lives in an "energy crisis hotspot"- one of the coldest neighbourhoods in Wales where people are living on the lowest incomes and homes are the most expensive to heat due to low efficiency ratings.
When Julie first moved in to her home, they put cladding on the outside of the house but Julie said there had been damage to the outside wall of her home which was just covered over. With a gap between the cladding and the kitchen unit which was later fitted, Julie said there is no insulation and it is hard to keep the cold out. "It is drafty. None of the windows work properly. They don't shut properly," said Julie. "I only recently had double-glazing put in," she added. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
