TENS of thousands of children in the region are suffering because their parents cannot afford to pay their heating bills, a charity claims.

Around 130,000 children across the North-East are living in families who have energy debts, according to research from The Children’s Society.

The charity’s report, Show Some Warmth: Exposing the damaging impact of energy debt on children, claims that children living in families struggling with energy bills are much more likely to fall ill this winter.

The report accuses energy companies of failing to follow the rules and using damaging debt practices when families get into energy debt, leaving homes cold and harming children’s and parents’ health.

The charity points out that suppliers are legally required to assess how much of their debt families can realistically afford to repay.

Researchers found that 77,000 families in the North East – 24 per cent of the total – are in, or have experienced, energy debt.

It means an estimated 130,000 children across the region are living in families who are either in energy debt or have been in the past.

According to the charity, half of parents falling into energy debt across the North-East found their energy company aggressive, or felt intimidated by their supplier, with more than half saying they were not treated with respect or given the support they needed.

Matthew Reed, chief executive of The Children’s Society, said: “Huge numbers of families in the North East are struggling to make ends meet yet companies are making them the victims of their damaging debt practices.

"It is time they show some warmth and stop failing vulnerable families. They need to follow their agreements to work with, not against, families in energy debt and find workable solutions."

The charity wants to see urgent reforms to help struggling families, including law changes to force energy companies to treat families with children as vulnerable customers.