Kim Catcheside: Campaigners say heat is a right not a privilege

The caption on the poster reads: "Thousands of of elderly people will stop feeling the cold this winter."

It is not the first time that shock tactics have been employed to get across a social welfare message.

The BBC's John Leyne: "It shows the need to treat old people with the respect they deserve"

In September posters brought out by the Commission for Racial Equality were branded "racist and offensive".

The CRE stood by the use of shock tactics even after the Advertising Standards Authority asked for three posters to be removed.

The ASA has also had to step in after complaints about posters for clothing companies French Connection and Benetton.

Help the Aged, which is seeking to educate the elderly about the dangers of cold weather and raise £1m, said it needs shock tactics to drive its message home.

Statistics suggest that 21,000 elderly people will die in the UK this winter from the effects of the cold, a higher percentage than in much colder climates like those of Canada, Sweden and even Siberia.

Criticism

But the National Federation of Retirement Pensions Associations criticised the advert and said it ran the risk of alienating exactly those people it was intended to help.

Statistics suggest that 21,000 elderly people will die from the cold this winter

General Secretary Robert Stansfield said: "I don't think it's something that will have any useful effect.

"I rather think that kind of advertising, instead of bringing older people out of their shells, will cause them to go further into them."

Help The Aged, in turn, launched its campaign with criticism of the government for providing inadequate fuel payments.

The director general of the charity, Michael Lake, said: "I want this shocking image to bring home the reality of these facts."

Carefully considered

Spokeswoman Betty McBride said that the advert had been carefully considered, but in the end it was decided that drastic measures were required.

"Help the Aged is a bastion of traditional values. If we're taking this step, it's because it's necessary," she said.

Help the Aged on why the poster campaign is necessary

Sandra Chalmers of Help the Aged told the BBC's Today programme that the figure of 21,000 came from the Office for National Statistics' figures for last winter.

"It was not plucked from the air," she said, adding that 38,000 had died the year before when the winter was much colder.

The aged are getting a "raw deal" from some hospitals

The campaign received backing from other age charities, including Age Concern, despite some national newspapers reportedly refusing to carry it.

The advert coincides with a government report released on Monday which is expected to say that elderly patients get a "raw deal" in terms of adequate hospital care.