Rural communities exposed to heating oil costs, minister says

Sharpe said she was not hopeful the government measures would help.

"I can't see how regulating it is going to bring costs down."

Pauline Trubody, from Porkellis, Cornwall, said she had already spent more on two deliveries of 500 litres this year compared to previous years.

The 76-year-old said: "I probably won't put it [the heating] on as much as I would have.

"There is going to be a lot of people who can't afford it and folk who are…