I spend all day in shopping centres to keep myself warm because I can’t afford to pay my energy bills & heat my home

A DESPERATE mum has revealed she spends all day in shopping centres to stay warm because she cannot afford to heat her home.

Margaret Morris, 51, hasn’t put the heating on for more than four years – and has no plan to amid the soaring cost of the living crisis.

And with her metre costing up to £10 for just a couple of hours warmth – the mum from Glasgow, Scotland, will stay cold.

She told the Daily Record: “If I want to get a heat, I go to my mum’s or walk about the shopping centres.”

Incredibly, Margaret manages to act as a full-time carer for son Scott, 21, in her freezing Haghill home in the east end of the city.

The pair tough it out by wrapping themselves in their duvets and wearing extra clothes in the face of gas and electric bills which burn through a crippling £200 per month.

Her decision has taken a toll on her personal life, too, as she admits “no one” visits her home anymore because it’s so cold.

But the mum – who also volunteers by meeting others like her struggling with fuel poverty – knows she isn’t the only one hanging around shopping centres to stay warm.

“They [people struggling] go out at 8am and don’t come home until 10pm at night because of the heating costs”, Margaret admits.

She adds that it is “very common” for people in her area to make excuses to go round other people’s homes for a chat just to warm up.

And amid rocketing costs of energy, the mum says there should be places people can go to get out the cold and stay warm.

It comes as worried Brits expect the cost of living crisis to spark a crime wave, deaths and riots, a shock poll reveals.

Some 70 per cent of the public expect many to refuse to pay energy bills, while 80 per cent expect more shoplifting and 51 per cent think riots will take place.

The soaring price of energy is linked to wholesale gas prices, which hit a record high of 530p per therm on Wednesday after Russia reduced supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany. 

The higher wholesale gas prices has meant BFY has increased its forecasts for October’s energy price cap to hit £3,420 and for January’s price cap to hit £3,850. 

This is despite BP chief Bernard Looney expecting to rake in £11.4million this year ­­— as Brits face crippling gas and petrol costs.

The fat cat boss could also land a £3.1million bonus and £6.94million in shares on top of his salary which is set to rise 4.35 per cent to £1.39million, results will show this week.

If you you’re struggling with bills, there are things you can do to get help.