// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
Woman 'scared to turn heating on' due to oil cost
Roslynn Garner-Gatley says she relies entirely on oil for heating and hot water
A woman has said she is frightened to put her heating on because the cost of domestic oil has nearly doubled.
Roslynn Garner-Gatley, 76, lives in a three-bedroom semi-detached cottage in Yealmpton, south Devon, with no gas supply and relies entirely on oil for heating and hot water.
She said her oil tank held 1,000 litres (220 gallons). About six months earlier, she bought 500 litres (110 gallons) for £317 plus VAT but, when she contacted her supplier for a current quote, she was told the same amount would cost £600 plus VAT.
Garner-Gatley said: "I did not expect at my age after working for 50 years to be in a situation where I am terrified of putting on the heating because of the price of it."
The cost of filling her heating oil tank has nearly doubled
Garner-Gatley said she had started going to bed earlier to keep warm while watching television and had recently begun using a hot water bottle and bed socks as evening temperatures dropped.
She said instead of keeping hot water on a timer, she only switched it on when she needed it for washing, cooking or bathing before turning it off again.
She added that people living in rural areas who depended on oil had "no choice" but to buy it.
She said: "After working all my life I didn't expect to be constantly worrying about how to keep warm at my age. It is really quite frightening."