‘Starve or freeze to death’: Millions of elderly Brits fear a grim choice this winter as costs spiral

But over the past three months, the 77-year-old widow from the southern English county of Oxfordshire has lost nearly 25 pounds, a result of eating just one cooked meal a day — with just a piece of fruit or a sandwich for dinner. DeBurgo lost the weight while trying to save money — a sobering manifestation of the country’s cataclysmic cost-of-living crisis, one that appears to have no end in sight.In July, inflation rose above 10% for the first time in 40 years, driven by the skyrocketing cost of energy, food and fuel. The Bank of England forecasts inflation will soar to 13% by the end of the year. Analysts say it could go even higher early next year.DeBurgo, who relies on her state pension and a supplementary Pension Credit benefit, says her grocery bills have already nearly doubled over the course of about a month, with the rising cost of fuel even more worrying for her winter energy bills.”I don’t want to end up, like, skeletal… eventually it’s gonna have to stop. But whether I’ll be able to afford to eat by then, I don’t know,” she told CNN in a phone interview.But many campaigners say it’s not enough.Dennis Reed, director of the senior citizens group Silver Voices, told CNN that some of his organization’s Conservative Party members have left the party, noting a series of broken promises.In April, the Conservative government broke an election pledge by suspending the so-called “triple lock” formula for a year — a measure to ensure that basic state pensions rise by either 2.5%, the rate of inflation or by the average earnings growth, based on whichever is largest. “People are furious about that,” Reed said, adding that after working for 50 or 60 years and paying taxes, people expect to be able to live their twilight years in dignity. “But that’s not what is happening now.”The government has pledged to reinstate the triple lock guarantee by next April, but many pensioners say the damage is already done.”We may have short (-term) memory problems but our long-term memories are strong and I think that will rebound on the Conservatives — whenever that is,” Reed said.