Christmas Day rumours that Santa Claus has been spotted scaling the side of a high-rise London tower block of flats have been denied.

The seasonal figure seen abseiling on a housing estate turns out to be part of a £1 million deal to insulate homes on four housing estates in London’s deprived East End.

An agreement has been reached by EDF Energy t with Tower Hamlets Homes, which manages housing services for the local authority, to help reduce gas and electric bills for families on low income.

The project is part of the government’s Eco scheme, Energy Company Obligation, to help reduce winter fuel bills using lower carbon emissions.

“This is one of the largest Eco projects we’ve worked on with a London borough,” EDF Energy’s Field Services director Eric Salomon revealed.

“Improvements like loft insulation, external wall insulation and bringing heating systems up to date will benefit families with lower bills and warmer homes.”

The Eco scheme introduced last winter set suppliers targets for energy reduction improvements, focussing on vulnerable and low-income households as well as properties considered to be ‘hard-to-treat’.

The chair of Tower Hamlets Homes Board, Ann Lucas, said: “This agreement is to help cash-strapped families make ends meet, at a time when there are pressures on household incomes.

“It will reduce condensation and improve the look and feel of our neighbourhoods as well as making people’s homes much warmer.

“Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived boroughs in London—it’s right that we invest in this community and in a way that’s good for the environment.”

Some 500 homes are included in the scheme on the Bancroft, Avebury, St Stephen’s and Chicksand estates. Work is expected to be complete by March, 2016.

EDF Energy confirmed it has met all of its energy efficiency targets for the Energy Company Obligation scheme four months ahead of the deadline in March.