The parents of severely disabled twins have spoken of their fears after having their energy bills increased by more than £800 a year.
Melissa Anderton and Dean Farnworth saw their electricity bills rocket to £270 a month following the price cap increase on April 1. The couple, from Leigh, care full time for their three-year-old twin sons Carter and Deacon Farnworth, who have congenital myopathy.
The rare muscle disease causes the muscles to weaken and waste away. The tots lived in hospital until they were two-years-old, only being discharged in Christmas 2020 after the family were gifted specialist equipment to allow them to live at home.
But the machinery, which includes multiple ventilators, suction machines, feeding pumps, humidifiers, specialist cots and monitors, needs to be switched on at all times – using lots of electricity. Melissa, 26, says the family have had to make cutbacks in order to afford their monthly bills.
“We can’t do as much as we used to, we can’t go for days out,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “It’s hard because we don’t know how long the twins have left, so we want to enjoy every moment of them being here but we can only do that when we’re financially stable.
“We’ve had to cut back on shopping. Where we could go out and maybe get an extra cake as a treat on a Sunday, we can’t do that anymore – or something as simple as buying the kids a chocolate bar or a new t shirt. We’re scrimping and scraping at the minute.
“We’re constantly arguing because the kids are getting agitated because they’re stuck in all the time. In the boys’ bedroom, there are about 12 plug sockets. Everything has to constantly be plugged in."
The tots need 24/7 support from ventilators while Carter also has a tube in his neck to allow him to breathe properly.
Melissa and Dean say they contacted British Gas for help but were allegedly told they should “wait until they are in debt” with the company before asking for assistance.
A spokesman for British Gas said: ‘Melissa and Dean’s situation sounds very difficult, we’re getting in touch to find out a bit more and see how we can help."
