Clydesdale folk wasting £400k a year on fuel bills

For that is the area's shameful share of the annual 3,200,000 estimated energy cost wastage in South Lanarkshire, revealed in a study commissioned by the Energy Saving Advice Centre.

And the Trust said that what makes all the waste even harder to tolerate is the fact that much of it is so easily avoidable.

The survey found that, should all households in South Lanarkshire install just under 11 inches of loft insulation, it would be equivalent to taking around 6,000 cars off the road each year.

A Centre spokesman said this week: "We have identified that

people living in South Lanarkshire could be wasting a huge amount of cash because their homes are poorly insulated.

''They are now being urged to complete a free home energy check to find out just how much they are wasting."

For this personal home power audit, a questionnaire is completed by each householder.

For more information on this article, see this week's Carluke and Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.