A MUM-of-two from Whetstone is one of just four in the UK to have completed an energy saving challenge and she has been rewarded with a huge reduction in her bills.

Working mum, Lorna Walkden, 36, of Miles Way, Whetstone and her family reduced their carbon footprint and saw their gas and electricity consumption drop by 38 per cent.

The Carbon Reduction Challenge was set by the Carbon Trust, in partnership with website Mumsnet to show how small changes in a person’s everyday life can impact their footprint and decrease their bills.

Mrs Walkden said: “As a working mum I thought the challenge would be difficult but it was a lot easier than I thought.

“It was nice to find out how much money you can save and when I realised that by making some adjustments to our lifestyle we could save £50 a year, I was genuinely surprised."

The family made small changes, such as turning off lights and the television when they did not need it, keeping the fridge closed and putting lids on pans while cooking.

Mrs Walkden said she was surprised to find out half the family's carbon footprint came from food and drink.

“It was quite enlightening because I had a vague idea of what would take up energy and we thought because we didn’t have a car we were already saving a lot on our carbon footprint,” she added.

“One of the most surprising things I found out was red meat had seven times the amount of carbon footprint than white meat.”

Going shopping with her children and looking for food with the footprint logo of the Carbon Reduction Label was one of the activities Mrs Walkden enjoyed the most.

“It has encouraged all of us to pick up better habits which have become engrained,” she added.