KNITTERS in York are being urged to put their needles together to help keep cancer patients warm this winter.

Macmillan Cancer Support’s York branch has launched a comfort blanket campaign and is calling on its supporters to knit patchwork squares for the charity. All the squares will then be stitched together to create full blankets, which will be distributed to cancer patients as part of the charity’s drive to reduce fuel poverty.

Roohi Lupton, Macmillan Cancer Support’s fundraising manager for York, said: “People undergoing cancer treatment have to spend more time at home as they’re often too ill to work.

“They feel the cold more because their immune system is weakened, and put the heating on more so their fuel bills are higher – all at a time when their household income plummets. It’s a vicious circle and that’s why it’s so important to freeze out fuel poverty for cancer patients.”

To help launch the campaign, Macmillan Cancer Support would like to encourage knitters to host a coffee morning as part of the charity’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning next Friday.

All of the knitting patterns are available as a free download from www.macmillan.org.uk/theknitter