The report prepared for the council's executive board reveals that fuel poverty among vulnerable people such as pensioners, the long-term ill, the disabled and children has increased from 19 per cent to 24 per cent in a year.

A household is considered "fuel poor" if it has to spend more than 10 per cent of its income on heating and hot water.

Fuel costs have increased in Leeds by 185 per cent for electricity and 265 per cent for gas since 2000, with a forecast of more electricity cost hikes to come.

The effects of fuel poverty become more obvious as winter closes in, with one in five people in Leeds admitting that their own or their family's health is affected by cold in the home.

The elderly are particularly vulnerable as their low incomes mean that heating can be seen as a luxury, and many people still die from cold.

The report also highlights the efforts the council is taking to combat the problem, including support in encouraging residents and landlords to insulate their properties.

The work of the council's Fuelsavers team has seen the number of houses using government grants to install energy-efficient measures rise by 40 per cent over the past 12 months, with more than 4,600 receiving help to do so.

The Leeds Affordable Warmth Strategy was launched last year and it is hoped residents, landlords and council departments can combine so the city can achieve the Government's target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016.

Coun Barry Anderson, the council's lead member for energy, said: "Fuel poverty costs lives and these latest figures prove that the recent increases in electricity and gas prices are hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.

"No family should have to turn off their heating because they cannot afford it and the council is doing all it can to help people access funding to pay for simple measures such as loft insulation or more efficient boilers.

"We are making excellent progress in tackling the city's fuel poverty, but this report shows we cannot let up our fight."

Contact Fuelsavers on 395 7159 for help and advice on how to cut fuel bills.