ALMOST 1000 council house tenants in the Outer Hebrides are classed as living in extreme fuel poverty, a new study has found.

The survey of 2242 tenant households also found that well over half (61%) of them in the isles are in fuel poverty.

But the figures produced by Hebridean Housing Partnership (HHP) revealed the scale of the problem many households are facing, with 22% equating to 1000 tenants, classed as living in 'extreme' fuel poverty. This is where more than 20% of their annual income is spent on domestic fuel.

HHP, which has roughly 20% of housing stock in the Outer Isles and is the only significant landlord in the islands, has asked Ofgem it to intervene.

It says fuel prices are some of the highest in the UK despite the average incomes being half the UK average.