MORE Ryedale residents should be encouraged to take up benefits and grants as a way of combating fuel poverty in the district, says a new report.

According to the York-based Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, the lack of access to gas supplies is also a cause of fuel poverty in Ryedale.

It reveals that 4,266 people in the district suffer from fuel poverty, with the highest concentration being in the Malton area, Helmsley, and Norton.

Lance Saxby, the local authority support programme co-ordinator for the centre, which is part of The Energy Partnership and the Energy Saving Trust, said: "A household is in fuel poverty if more than ten per cent of its income is needed to be spent on household fuel use."

Mr Saxby said the new report would be used by Ryedale District Council and other authorities to probe the best way of targeting households in areas where there is a high incidence of fuel poverty.

The average level of fuel poverty in Ryedale was 22 per cent compared with the average in England of 24 percent.

Only one Ryedale ward is officially labelled as "fuel rich".

Mr Saxby said: "It is quite a high score for a remote rural district."

The most "fuel rich" households are to be found in the wards in Ryedale's north and south-west areas.

The report states: "Over one in four households in Malton live in fuel poverty.

"If Malton is disregarded, the range of scores for the remaining Ryedale wards is quite low, at eight per cent."

Mr Saxby said: "Tackling fuel poverty is particularly difficult in rural areas. Many rural properties do not have access to gas - the cheapest fuel for heating homes.

"In addition, people in rural areas tend not to claim the benefits to which they are entitled. This also prevents them from accessing energy efficiency grants."

Updated: 11:42 Tuesday, December 30, 2003