Two Whalley Conservative councillors have condemned the Labour government's decision to scrap Winter Fuel Payments to most pensioners claiming 15,189 of them living in the Ribble Valley borough will lose out.

Cllrs Ged Mirfin and Mark Hindle want Pendle and Clitheroe MP Jonathan Hinder to oppose the move in Parliament.

Earlier this month the Lancashire Telegraph revealed that 86 per cent of pensioners in the east of the county, almost 80,000, are set to lose the annual payments of between £200 and £300 cover higher heating and energy bills during the cold winter months.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves last month announced all pensioners not in receipt of benefits would lose the allowance to help fill a claimed £22 billion "black hole" in public finances.

Now Lancashire County Council's Ribble Valley North-East division's Cllr Mirfin and Cllr Hindle, who represents Whalley and Painter Wood on Ribble Valley Council, say the borough's many pensioners will be hard hit by the move.

Cllr Mirfin said: "Withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Allowance by the Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have dramatic consequences for the 16,107 pensioners that currently live in the Ribble Valley according to figures just released by the Office for National Statistics.

"One in four residents in the Ribble Valley (24.98 per cent) fall into the pensioner category – the third highest percentage across authorities in Lancashire.

"The worst affected borough in East Lancashire will be the Ribble Valley, where a huge 94.3 per cent of pensioners will lose the winter fuel payment.

"Of the 16,107 older people in the borough, just 918 will keep the payment under Labour’s plans."

Cllr Hindle said: "Rural deprivation is a major issue.

"Homes in rural areas are often more expensive to heat because they are older, bigger and have worse insulation than those in cities.

"Poorly insulated homes have a particularly damaging impact on older households unable to afford to heat their homes properly, especially those with health conditions that are worsened by the cold."

The two councillors have called on Mr Hinder to "stand up for Ribble Valley" and opposed the move at Westminster.

The Lancashire Telegraph has approached him and his Ribble Valley Labour Parliamentary colleague Maya Ellis for comment.