HOME-heating costs are a greater burden in Malton that anywhere else in Ryedale.

Indeed, a new report states that more than one in four households in the town live in "fuel poverty", in part a reflection of relatively low household incomes.

The figures are revealed in a report by the York-based Energy Efficiency Centre.

It says 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, says: "A household is in fuel poverty if more than 10pc of its income is needed to be spent on household fuel use."

The new report, he says, will 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 is 22pc, compared with the average in England of 24pc. Only one Ryedale ward is officially labelled as "fuel rich".

"It is quite a high score for a remote rural district," says Mr Saxby. The most 'fuel rich' households are to be found in the wards in Ryedale's north and south-west areas.

"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 8pc. This suggests that fuel poverty is fairly evenly spread across the district, reflecting its rural nature and lack of sizeable settlements."

Mr Saxby says in the report: "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."

The report, which has been sent to councillors and representatives of other organisations, has been produced using indicators drawn up by Bristol University's centre for sustainable energy.

Scarborough has the highest score of fuel poverty in North Yorkshire, while Hambleton has the lowest.

The Stockton and Bossall ward has the lowest fuel poverty rating in Ryedale, at 16pc of households, while Pickering and Rillington each have 23pc, Amotherby 22pc, Kirkbymoorside 21pc, Birdsall and Sherburn 21pc, Hovingham and Thornton-le-Dale 20pc, Kirkby Misperton, Dales, Ebberston and Ampleforth 19pc each, and Sheriff Hutton 17pc.

Updated: 12:40 Monday, December 29, 2003