People in the Yambol area have filed more than 5,100 applications for heating aid, far more than last year, the Social Assistance Directorate in Yambol said. Applications are open until 31 October.

Most came from Yambol town, with more than 2,700.

The aid is paid in two parts. The first payment, €128.78, arrives the month after the approval order. The second, €193.17, will be paid next year.

Hundreds of people were turned down. A family gets no aid if its income over the past six months is above the limit. People who sold or gave away property worth more than €2,800 in the past two years are also refused.

The social services office must accept every applicant's papers and cannot refuse them. Svetlozar Pehlivanov of the office says applications from people with no right to aid put a load on the system and waste staff time.

"Far too often the thinking is: I'll file my application, and if they turn me down, they turn me down," Pehlivanov told Bulgarian National Radio.

"Usually the rush to file these application forms is in the first month, and to some extent the second, and then fewer people come in September and October," he added.