HUNDREDS of pensioner households not eligible for pension credit can apply for up to £100 grants to cover energy bills within hours.

The help comes via a district council which is offering support to those who will miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment this year.

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Hundreds in Basildon can get grants to cover energy bills this winter[/caption]

The Government is now means-testing the up to £300 payment meaning only those on certain benefits qualify – including pension credit.

Fears have been raised the move from the Government could leave older households struggling to keep warm over the colder months.

However, Basildon Borough Council, in Essex, has launched a “Warm Home Guarantee” scheme for residents worth £100,000.

The local authority is aiming to hand out 1,000 £100 one-off grants to pensioner households who fall outside the eligibility criteria for pension credit but may still need help covering energy bill costs this winter.

Cllr Gavin Callaghan, Leader of Basildon Council, said: “While we can’t change government policy, we can take local action to protect our most vulnerable residents.

“That’s why we’re allocating £100,000 to directly support 1,000 pensioner households with £100 grants to keep their homes warm.

“The Warm Home Guarantee is about ensuring no pensioner in Basildon faces the cold alone.”

Who is eligible and how to apply

Applications for Basildon Council’s new scheme open tomorrow and run until March 31 next year, or until the fund is fully allocated.

Pensioners can apply online via the council’s website while physical forms will be available at local community centres or the Basildon Centre in the town centre.

To qualify, you must be of state pension age, currently 66, or older and not eligible for pension credit.

However, your weekly household income must be between £219 and £300 if you live alone or £332 and £450 if you are a couple.

You must live in the Basildon Borough area and won’t qualify if you have a second home.

You also must provide evidence of what you currently pay for your energy bills.

You will be required to provide the following evidence as part of your application:

• Proof of age (such as a state-issued ID).
• Proof of income (such as bank statements, pension statements, or a letter from HMRC).
• Most recent heating or energy bill or receipt for pre-payment meters

Households are only eligible for one £100 grant and the payments will be issued on a first-come first serve basis.

We have asked the council if payments will be made by bank transfer and will update this story when we have heard back.

More information on the scheme can be found via: www.basildon.gov.uk/Warm-Home-Guarantee.

What other help is there?

If you don’t live in Basildon and also don’t quality for the Winter Fuel Payment, there is other help on offer.

Octopus Energy has introduced a new scheme offering pensioners discretionary credit of between £50 and £200 to cover energy bills.

The energy firm is offering low income households who don’t receive pension credit help via its Octo Assist Fund.

To find out if you are eligible for help you can visit the Octopus Energy website.

A host of other energy firms might be able to offer you a grant if you are struggling to keep up with the cost of energy bills, including Utilita, EDF and E.ON.

CHELSEA fans have praised Cole Palmer for his “mind games” in the build-up to Bournemouth’s penalty miss.

The Blues secured their second Premier League win of the season last night as they beat the Cherries 1-0.

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Cole Palmer was seen trying to put off Evanilson before his penalty[/caption]

Instagram @skysports

Palmer said something to him before being pushed away[/caption]

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Robert Sanchez brilliantly denied Evanilson from the spot[/caption]

Christopher Nkunku’s strike made the difference as Jadon Sancho impressed in his cameo and set up the goal.

But some Chelsea supporters are demanding Palmer also gets registered with an assist for his role in a decisive moment.

With the score level in the first-half, Bournemouth were given a penalty after Evanilson was fouled by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

But the Chelsea’s No1 immediately redeemed himself and saved the spot-kick brilliantly.

Before Evanilson took his shot, eagle-eyed fans noticed Palmer trying to put him off.

The England star was seen speaking to him before being ushered away by Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier.

Chelsea fans loved his tricks, with one saying: “Palmer needs credit as he got into penalty taker’s head.”

Another added: “Palmer with another assist…this time for a penalty save. Mind games.”

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More reacted: “Palmer man of the match for getting in Evanilson’s head before the penalty.”

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said: “The Bournemouth players were having a chat, Palmer is trying to get into peoples’ heads, ‘are you going to take it?’

“Having a little discussion about it, trying to get into his head, all part of the psychology of football.

“Interesting to see how good his [Evanilson’s] English is. He hasn’t been here that long, he probably doesn’t understand Palmer. He got the gist of it I’m sure.”

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AN EMMERDALE actor has opened up on his sudden exit from the ITV show – with fans now fearing his character is gone for good.

Back in June, The Sun was first to report how the soap star had quit Dales life after five years.

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Fans now fear the character has been killed off for good[/caption]

Rex Features

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He told how leaving had always ‘been in the back of my head’[/caption]

At the time, we teased an explosive plot twist which would air later in the year – and now loyal Emmerdale viewers reckon Nate Robinson has in fact died following an explosive barn blaze.

Leicester-born actor Jurell Carter recently spoke out on his exit and told it had been a long time coming.

He told MirrorOnline: “It’s always been in the back of my head.

“My agent was itching for me to go probably a few years ago, but I said to him that it doesn’t feel like the right time, I’m in the right place and I’d know when the time is right.

“It never felt like the right time.”

He added: “But I feel like I’ve reached the point where it’s now or never, in a sense that if I don’t do it now I’ll… not live to regret it, but always be wondering ‘what if?’

“I just didn’t want that feeling.

I feel like five years is the perfect time for me as an actor to try and move onto something else.”

He expressed his divided emotions further after leaving a soap which has seen him at the centre of a handful of massive storylines.

These included him making his debut as a seductive farmhand before he had an affair with Moira Dingle behind Cain’s back.

More recently, his cheating wife Tracy made a huge decision about their marriage.

Now Jurell has addressed his. co-stars as he delved further ibto the reason for his decision,

He added to the publication: “I would speak to some of my colleagues and say it’s a weird one, because it’s not like I hate my job, it’s not like I hate my surroundings or the people that I’m working with.

“I love everyone and I love the job. I’m excited for my future but I’m also sad to be leaving behind such a beautiful show and beautiful people.”

Recent Emmerdale exits include Lewis Cope, Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana and Emile John, who played Nicky, Suni and Ethan respectively.

James Chase, who plays villain Tom King, has reportedly also quit the soap.

Emmerdale airs on ITV and is available to watch on ITVX.

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Jurell joined the soap as a seductive farmhand and has been at the heart of some huge storylines[/caption]

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DESPITE being nicknamed the “city of ice cream” by travel experts, the Italian beach town of Pizzo seems to have flown under the tourist radar.

Popular towns and cities in Italy can get very crowded, but there are still some secluded spots where holidaymakers can relax in peace.

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Pizzo is an overlooked Italian seaside town[/caption]

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Pizzo has been dubbed the city of ice cream[/caption]

One of those places is Pizzo – a beach town in the south of Italy that’s just a short journey from other major cities like Tropea.

Located in the often-overlooked Calabria, blogger Cherrye Moore of My Bella Vita Travel has described Pizzo as the “lesser-known cousin of Tropea”.

Travel website iitaly Calabria said: “With peeling pink and yellow painted walls, cobbled streets and a vespa parked on almost every corner, the town offers all of the charm of destinations you’ll find on the Amalfi coast, yet with a fraction of the tourists.”

Popular with locals, visitors to the Italian town are unlikely to hear English spoken while walking along the town’s tiny streets.

One of the main areas is the Piazza della Republica, a huge outdoor square filled with restaurants and gelaterias (ice cream shops).

Its abundance of ice cream parlours is for a very good reason too, Pizzo is known as “city of ice cream” .

This is because it’s the homeplace of the world-famous tartufo di Pizzo, an ice cream made from hazelnut and chocolate.

From the square, visitors will also be able to admire Murat – a 15th century fort.

Named after Joachim Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte and briefly King of Naples, tourists can visit for just £2.40.

Holidaymakers who want to take in views over the Tyrrhenian coast should head to a viewpoint named Spuntini.

As well as views overlooking the crystal-clear blue water, there’s also a wire figure sculpture called Il collezionista di venti (the collector of winds). 

Away from the historical attractions, there’s Pizzo Beach, a large sandy beach with clear blue water.

And Pizzo’s marina is a small bay sheltered by the pier that’s backed by charming buildings, restaurants and bars.

Lamezia Terme Airport is the closest airport to the UK, with direct flights.

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Return flights cost just £31 with Ryanair[/caption]

Ryanair operates a direct service from London Stansted Airport to the Italian destination, with £14.99 flights each way.

British Airways also operates another direct route from London City Airport.

And there are plenty of other secluded spots in Italy only locals seem to know about, including Ponza.

Ponza is part of the Pontine archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and it is home to beaches that rival Capri — but for a fraction of the price.

To get there, you can hop on a train from Rome‘s main station, Termini, to the port city of Anzio. The journey takes just over an hour and costs around £5.

Meanwhile, here are the 100 best beaches in the world to visit in 2024 – and four from the UK have made the cut.

And one tiny UK town has been compared to a stunning Italian island.

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Pizzo is home to pastel-coloured houses[/caption]

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Pizzo has been called the city of ice cream by holidaymakers[/caption]

GILLIAN Kearney made a surprise return to Emmerdale this week against all odds as part of a surprise twist.

Her character Emma Barton appeared to come back from the dead as part of the show’s explosive barn fire week.

Rex Features

However, in reality, it was a flashback from her previous stint on the programme from one of her many run-ins with Moira Dingle.

In the scenes, Moira was left perplexed and confused as a result of her then-undiagnosed brain tumour.

She mistook Ruby Fox-Milligan for Emma Barton and believed she was involved in another scary confrontation amid their bitter feud.

Fans know Moira previously killed Emma and let her son Adam take the blame for it, and amid her health battle, was left disturbed by thoughts of Emma.

Amid actress Gillian’s surprise on-screen appearance as Emma, the star has led a full life in the acting industry with a slew of forgotten roles and a surprise career switch-up.

Before making a name for herself as show legend Emma Barton, Gillian was best known for her role in the show Brookside.

The 42-year-old played the part of Debbie McGrath in Brookside starting in 1986.

Debbie became well known for her relationship with Damon Grant, played by Simon O’Brien.

The pairing became so successful on the Channel 4 soap opera that they were handed their own three-part spin-off series, titled Damon and Debbie.

Gillian eventually left her role after three years in 1989.

She spent the next decade picking up guest roles in a series of top TV hits including Heartbeat and Men of the World.

In the mid-2000s, Gillian bagged two more series regular roles that propelled her back into the glare of the spotlight.

In 2005 she kicked off a two-year role in Channel 4 show Shameless as Sue Garland.

She later left this role in order to join the BBC medical drama Casualty where she appeared as Jessica Harrison for a run of 93 episodes over two years.

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She appeared in Brookside as a teen[/caption]

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Debbie and Damon became a soap love story[/caption]

CAREER SWITCH-UP

After leaving Emmerdale in 2017, Gillian opted to take her career in a different direction as she chose to say goodbye to the world of screen acting for a while.

Instead of being on-camera, she decided to turn her attention to the behind-the-scenes world of the TV industry.

She became a full-time director with her first full length series being the Channel 5 and 5Star prison drama Clink released in 2019.

She further went on to direct Moving On for the BBC in 2020.

Despite opting to focus on directing, Gillian did decide to take on her first acting role since Emmerdale at the start of the year.

She appeared in one episode of ITV‘s drama Vera where she played Deborah McSwain.

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