Three Suffolk MPs have joined colleagues from across the country to demand that British Gas re-thinks proposals to halve the number of places its customers can pay their bills in shops.

Dr Therese Coffey, James Cartlidge and Dr Dan Poulter are among 94 signatories to a letter sent to British Gas to protest about its plans to switch its payment partner from Paypoint - available at 28,000 retailers - to Payzone which only has 13,000 participants.

The letter says: "Ending the Paypoint contract and only having the option of Payzone (as well as a post office) brings significant difficulty for many of our constituents, particularly in rural constituencies.

"We appreciate that having the contract with Payzone - owned by the Post Office - may reduce costs for British Gas, but this should not come at the expense of customers from the most vulnerable sections of our community."

Suffolk Coastal MP and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Dr Coffey drew up the letter and said: "I picked up on this issue locally and discovered that the number of places locally where people could top up their meters had shrunk considerably, making it more difficult for people in their daily lives to keep the electricity going.

"The number of MPs that signed the letter shows the widespread level of concern across the country."