MINISTERS must provide more support for people living in poverty with lung and heart conditions as freezing temperatures put them in greater risk, campaigners said today.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 1.3 million people living in poverty in private rented homes suffer from a cardiovascular or respiratory condition.

People with such conditions are more likely to need hospital treatment and to die from the cold, with this risk increasing for people who are too poor to afford to keep warm.