Families too poor to switch on lights

THOUSANDS of families with kids can't afford to turn on lights at night, a shock new study reveals.

One in ten is forced to use CANDLES instead due to rising energy bills, it claims.

More than three-quarters severely ration heating and power, parenting site Netmums found.

One in five parents says their children get ill more often as it is too costly to heat the home.

And 13 per cent have gone without food to pay their power bills.

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "It's like something out of Dickens."

The report also found nine in ten families use the heating only when the cold is unbearable.           More Read