ELDERLY people living in Worcestershire are being urged to claim cash benefits that could improve their quality of life.

In a bid to reverse the growing amount of benefit cash not being claimed by older people each year - £4.2 billion nationally - charity Age Concern has launched a year-long campaign called Your Rights.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness among older people about what they are entitled to claim benefits for and how they can go about doing it.

Director general Gordon Lishman said: "There's nothing to lose and everything to gain by making a claim. Claiming council tax benefit alone could cut bills by an average of £580 a year and claiming housing benefit could mean paying less rent."

Actor and TV presenter Tony Robinson, who is supporting the campaign, said: "You wouldn't throw your own money out of the window, would you? Yet that's what thousands of elderly people do every day by not collecting the benefits that are due to them. We pay our taxes all our lives - let's make sure we all get the proper return."

For details call 0800 009966.