'We've got to do something': Warm banks set up across Yorkshire in bakeries and shops as residents prepare for energy bills torment

He has designated the room above Brickyard Bakery to provide a “warm bank” for residents who are staring down the barrel of a cold winter with energy bills forecast to become, for many, unaffordable.

Posting on the Bakery’s Facebook page, he wrote “The ever increasing cost of living heading into winter is weighing heavily on most of our minds.

“Our bakery ovens produce a tremendous amount of heat, and they are on a lot. The academy above the bakery has a lounge area gets all this lovely warmth.”

He has invited anyone to come to the warm bank between the hours of 10am and 5pm every weekday from September 15 - and the response has astonished him.

He said: “I don’t want to take any credit for a genius lightbulb moment – it’s just, I’ve got lots of heat and people are going to be struggling.

"It’s just went nuts. I’m a six foot Northern bloke. I don’t revert to tears very often but reading the messages I’ve had from locals has changed that.

"It’s a horrible situation. I’m worried the space won’t be big enough – I think it could be used even more than I’ve imagined.”The reason I want to get it open this early is that I want people to come in and see the space. When they’re cold and huddled up with a blanket, they might just think ‘I could go to that bakery – it’s nice up there.’

"It’s no good just setting it up when the bad weather is here, I want to let as many people know about it as I can. It’s open to everybody. I can’t sit by and let people struggle if I can help in any small way.

"But we need to look at why we’ve got into this position in the first place.”

The sentiment is echoed by Jane Hardman-Ferris, who is on the management committee of the community shop in Church Fenton, near Tadcaster.

The committee have decided to use the shop’s conservatory space as a warm bank, with free tea and cheap soup for residents worried about heating.

Ms Hardman-Ferris said: “We all sat down and said ‘we’ve got to do something.’

"People can stay as long as they like. There’s books, games, blankets – people can keep warm and have a natter with each other.

"It’s going to be open to everyone from the village.

"Some people view our area as bucolic and beautiful – if you go on Rightmove, you’ll see houses going up for an awful lot of money.

"But we also have pockets of deprivation and it’s almost hidden sometimes.

"It’s worrying – and it’s worrying so many of us in the shop. It breaks my heart.

"Customers are coming into the shop, asking us ‘what are we going to do?”

"We’re a community. We love and look after eachother. We don’t want anyone to feel marginalised and embarrassed. Our community, as far as I’m concerned, is our family.”

Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to announce plans to freeze energy bills this week.