Corby families face Christmas in hotel after heating fails

Lisa, Rosie and Olivia face the prospect of Christmas in a hotel

A group of families face the prospect of Christmas in a hotel after heating broke down in their housing association homes.

The families said Riverside Housing had left their homes in Corby, Northamptonshire, without heating or hot water for several weeks.

One mother said her daughter feared Father Christmas would not come because she was at a hotel and not at home.

Riverside Housing said it was "truly sorry" for the heating problems.

Lisa said her youngest child was worried she would get no Christmas presents because Santa would not come to the hotel

Lisa, who has three children, said: "Eleven weeks ago, my heating pump exploded, the thermostat flew off and it was on the floor.

"We waited six weeks for them to come out to have a look at it, and they didn't fix it. There were live wires in the cupboard that I didn't know anything about."

She said she was told she could return home last week, but that there were still noises coming from the cupboard and she felt the house was not safe.

Home for the families this Christmas will be this hotel

Lisa said the children found living in the hotel to be a novelty at first, but were fed up with it now.

Her youngest child is two years old and has nowhere to play with her toys.

"My little daughter is worried that Santa won't come because he won't go in the hotel. I don't know how to respond to that," she said.

Rebecca Rigney said the housing association had not even been out to investigate the problem

Rebecca Rigney, who is stuck at the hotel with her two children, is frustrated by what she sees as a lack of action by the housing association.

"They've not even been out to investigate [the broken heating system] and I've been in the hotel now for two weeks with my four- and five-year-olds," she said.

"All of us are full of anxiety and worry. We're all getting to the point now when we're so worried we're not going to get home for Christmas.

"We're not looking forward to Christmas; we can't have a Christmas tree up and it makes me feel like I'm failing my children."

A spokesperson for Riverside Home said: "We're truly sorry three of our customers at Hooke Close, Corby, were recently experiencing heating problems within their homes.

"While we have been working to resolve this for them, regrettably two flats have experienced this issue for longer than we would have liked."

The firm added that specialist help was obtained when initial repairs were unsuccessful, and alternative accommodation was offered to the families.

The spokesperson said: "We want to reassure our affected customers that we are doing everything we can to resolve their concerns as quickly as possible to support their return home."