In a few months 70,000 people have left British Gas - where they're headed instead

Centrica revealed that it lost a total of 110,000 UK energy customer accounts in the first four months of the year alone.

The company confirmed that works out at around 70,000 people.

But the British Gas owner - which recently raised bills for 4.1million people - thought losing that many people in few months was good, as the numbers leaving had "slowed materially" compared to the year before.

Centrica boss Iain Conn said: "2018 has begun well and overall financial performance in the year to date has been good, despite high competitive intensity in all our markets.

"Our customers continue to see new products and propositions and stable service levels, other than in UK Home Services which was impacted by extreme weather."

Where people are headed instead

The latest figures show British Gas is far from alone in losing customers.

Figures from comparison site comparethemarket.com show E.ON and Npower both had more people leave them than British Gas, with Scottish Power and EDF also in the top-5 places people were leaving.

“People are starting to get fed up with the Big Six providers, hooked on imposing endless rounds of price hikes, and are increasingly seeking better deals elsewhere," said Peter Earl, head of energy at comparethemarket.com .

And the people leaving are saving hundreds.

"The biggest savings were made by those who switched to smaller suppliers such as Avro Energy and Bulb, where people could save up to £300 on their energy bill based on average use," Earl said.

“Shopping around for a good energy deal can provide households with access to many lesser-known, alternative tariffs, such as small scale providers like Utility Point, Together Energy, Avro and Bulb.

"Smaller firms may offer better value for money, greater control over the management of your bill and the occasional added extra."

This story has been amended to reflect that 110,000 accounts works out as 70,000 people as many customers had accounts are for both electricity and gas