OFFICIALLY, meteorologically, March 1 saw the first day of spring.

Summer and hot, sunny days still seem a long way off and as the cost of living crisis continues to bite mercilessly, it may pay you to get in touch with our dedicated Energy Advice Team at Citizens Advice Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon.

If you are worried about how you are going to pay your gas or electricity bill or need advice on how you can best save energy at home, it is well worth contacting them.

You can leave a message on 01237 879233, you can visit a drop-in session, fill in a referral form or get advice by email. Full details are on our website at: https://citizensadvicetnmwd.org.uk/energyadvice/

You can also ring our free, local AdviceLine number on 0808 27 87 999.

Our energy saving tips can save households over £300 a year and if you call into one of our offices, either by pre-arranged appointment or at one of our drop-ins, if you meet the energy criteria, we can give you fuel vouchers.

A benefits check may show that you are entitled to claim certain benefits to boost your income.

Maybe you are having problems with your energy provider? Our advisers can help with that too.

So there is a wealth of free advice available to you; you might be surprised at the difference it can make!

All our advisers and volunteers get full, comprehensive, ongoing training and support. Some specialise in areas such as debt or energy advice, others are more generalised. Increasingly, people are reaching out to us for help and sadly, we can’t help them all.

However, as we are a volunteer led charity, recruiting more volunteers enables us to help more people and reduce levels of unmet demand.

Could you give us one day a week to help us meet this challenge? Our volunteers don’t need to have specialist skills, just an interest in people and a desire to help.

Volunteers develop existing skills, learn new ones and make new friends in the process.

Why not take the first step and email: [email protected]

We would love to hear from you!

Rosanna Teale

CEO and Trustee Support Officer

Citizens Advice Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon

• If you need help with bills mounting up and are worried about debt, please go here: https://citizensadvicetnmwd.org.uk/debt-and-money-advice/

If you are unsure that you are getting the correct benefits, please go here: https://citizensadviceruraldevon.entitledto.co.uk/home/start