Many elderly people live in fear

The research, published on Wednesday, was carried out for the Economic and Social Research Council and looked at some of the most deprived areas of Liverpool, Manchester and Newham, east London.

It also found that 45% of the elderly in the areas were living in poverty.

And just 7% felt safe leaving their homes at night.

The report defines social exclusion as the elderly missing out on material needs, social relations, civic activities or basic services.

It found that just three out of ten people in deprived areas did not suffer from any form of social exclusion.

These findings... suggest that older people in deprived areas are at least twice as likely to experience poverty as people in Britain as a whole Dr Thomas Scharf, report author

A further 30% are vulnerable to exclusion, with the remaining 40% being victims of "multiple exclusions".

For people in the latter category, this might mean going without basic necessities of life such as heating, new clothing, food and holidays, and being less involved in community life.

People are vulnerable to exclusion regardless of age or sex, but it is more of a problem for some ethnic minority groups - particularly Somali and Pakistani older people, the report says.

Ethnic minorities

The study drew on the results of a national survey which highlighted a range of items and activities regarded by 50% or more of people as necessities of daily living.

People lacking two or more items because they could not afford them were judged to be in poverty.

On that basis, 45% of those surveyed for were in that category.

Some older people lacked and could not afford a substantial number of necessities.

Around 75% of Somali pensioners and two-thirds of older Pakistani people were in poverty.

Report author, Dr Thomas Scharf, of the Centre for Social Gerontology, Keele University, said: "Comparison of these findings with national data suggests that older people in deprived areas are at least twice as likely to experience poverty as people in Britain as a whole."