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Warm "Welcome Spaces" are being offered this winter to people struggling to keep up with heating bills or who are feeling isolated.

The scheme is being run in libraries and community facilities across County Durham in part to combat fears over energy costs.

Point North, which funds the spaces, said: "Winter is incredibly tough, with many facing the difficult choice between staying warm, clean or fed."

Samantha, who has gone from needing help with heating to helping others, said: "It’s very scary when you are shivering in your own home."

The single mum remembers when she could no longer afford her gas bills and had to seek help.

She discovered many in her home town of Stanley were also in need of help, so became a volunteer.

"Stanley is often a forgotten community," she said. "People are still feeling the effects from the mining strikes.

"If you put it nicely it’s nestled in the foothills of the Pennines, but we suffer a lot with heavy snowfall, ice, sleet and very, very cold temperatures."

'Completely heartbreaking'

Among those Samantha has helped was a woman who arrived wearing three coats.

"She told me that she'd been heating her home with candles on a night-time to try and keep her and her children warm.

"It was just completely heartbreaking."

Durham County Council said the Welcome Spaces offered a safe environment where people can catch up with old friends, make new ones, seek advice and feel more connected to their communities.

Facilities are available in across the county.

Samantha says her own experiences mean she can empathise with those who need support.

She said while Welcome Spaces were a vital lifeline for the community, "it's bittersweet because places like this shouldn't exist".

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