LONDON (Reuters] – A poll has revealed that more people are struggling to pay their bills in Britain and that they are increasingly worried about losing their heat this winter.

Kantar Public released a monthly survey on Thursday showing that 39% found it more difficult to pay their monthly bills than they did a year earlier. This is nine percentage points higher than September’s.

Kantar reported that seven in ten respondents were concerned about the possibility of fuel and fresh food prices rising over the coming months.

Between September and October, the share of those concerned that they won’t be able to heat their homes during winter increased by nine percentage points to 62%.

British utility bills rose as prices for the most popular tariffs rose around 12% earlier in this month.

Although the country’s inflation measure was slightly lower at 3.1% in September, it has been affirmed by Bank of England that they will soon surpass 4%. The Bank of England is weighing whether to increase interest rates, which are currently at 0.1%.

Kantar interviewed 1 075 people between October 14th and 18