42 Miles

Energy prices are set to rise again on 1 October, leaving households already struggling to pay bills in greater difficulty.

As part of its Counting the Cost of Living series, Bbc News is asking people across the UK how they are coping - and revisiting them over The Coming months.

Kezia Crawford, 23, from Newtown, Powys, has to pay for her Energy use in advance. She is already finding it hard to keep her prepayment meter topped up.

Currently on maternity leave from Her Job in a Food Factory , she lives in a Council House with her partner Paul, who works as a supervisor at a manufacturing firm, and baby Dafydd, who is nearly four months old.

Ten pounds used to last about Two Weeks . We're lucky if it lasts a week on the electric now. The gas is Even Worse . It just drains. But we've got to have it on from six o'clock in The Morning until it starts heating up. Then from six o'clock at night it's got to go back on again. We can't avoid it.

It's quite depressing. We're spending so much money on something you can't really see.

We're trying to do Little Things like turning plugs off and all these things to help. But none of it really does. It all goes within days. I topped up £10 This Morning but I also topped up £10 four days ago. And it's just going to get worse.

Council houses have all changed over [to prepayment meters]. If we don't pay, it just gets cut off.

It's quite a sinking feeling really. Every month you're thinking about other ways you can cut back. We do everything as cheap as we can. Going for Aldi over Tesco, things like that.

We're still struggling to make sure we've got food. My partner has got three boys as well, so we've obviously got to make sure we've always got food in The House for them.

I can't not put heating on or not boil the kettle because I've got to make formula for Dafydd. If it gets too cold, he doesn't regulate his body temperature yet so we have to keep The House at The Right temperature.

With his formula, we've got to go and find the cheapest versions. Nappies, wipes; money doesn't stretch very far anymore.

I'm a bit worried about how we're going to afford [everything]. A tumble dryer is £1. 50 Each Time . . we can't afford to use ours so we're using our heating to dry all of our clothes.

My partner has just had to change jobs. He was working in Welshpool but we couldn't afford the petrol back and forth Every Day so he's had to change jobs to come here. It means he now works until 11 o'clock at night just to make ends meet.

Choosing between heating and formula and nappies [is my biggest worry]. That's the reality.

We've got no support network around here [so it's hard to supplement our income]. My Family live 50 miles down The Road . His Family live 50 miles The Other way, so we haven't got any childcare.

I don't drive so I'm constantly relying on Public Transport . I had a railcard but it was still costing me £20 for a return from here to Tywyn [where I worked, 42 Miles from Newtown]. Buses are Even Worse . It's just not affordable.

I miss Little Things . For me and my partner to be able to go away for The Day . Go and take The Kids out somewhere. Even if we're just driving up to The Forest , we've got to make sure we can afford the fuel for the rest of the week.

Every Day I'm just grateful for him [baby Dafydd]. The cost of living makes it harder to give him The Life that he deserves. But I think we're all just grateful for Our Kids . They give you something to work towards.

Memories don't have to cost money. You can make them right At Home . Memories are a feeling. As long as they feel loved and supported and you're doing The Best you can, that's All That matters.

Source of news: bbc.com