We've insulated, double-glazed and tariff-traded our way through a decade and yet greedy energy firms are squeezing us harder than ever, official figures showed yesterday.

Campaigners railed against Britain's "catastrophic" fuel poverty crisis as official statistics revealed that energy bills have risen by more than half since 2002, even after adjusting for inflation.

In 2002 the average household spent about £69 a month on their fuel bills, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said.