Somerset sheltered housing tenants without central heating for weeks

Karen Mitchell said nobody had wanted to visit her at Christmas due to the lack of heating

Sheltered housing residents who have been without central heating for weeks say the recent cold weather has been "horrendous".

Karen Mitchell, who lives in one of the properties in Timberscombe, near Minehead, said the heating had been broken since the start of December.

She said she had got so cold she "lost the will to get up and do anything".

Magna, which manages the Somerset homes, said it was working to resolve the issues "as quickly as possible".

A spokesperson added: "We are in contact with our customers to keep them up to date and make sure they are warm while their heating is being repaired, which includes providing additional temporary heaters where needed and covering the cost of running them."

Mrs Mitchell said the heaters were not warming the house enough and it was difficult to position them safely.

'Really depressing'

She said the issue started when the heating did not come on one morning in early December.

Mrs Mitchell said two different contractors and the housing association had been out to look at the issue but it still was not fixed.

She has resorted to boiling kettles to have hot water as hers is intermittent.

"You don't want to go and have a shower or anything because it's so cold. It just gets really depressing," she added.

Karen Mitchell said the electric heaters were making the house stuffier and making her cough a lot more

Mrs Mitchell said the recent cold weather had been "dreadful".

"You kind of lose that will to get up and do anything when you get that cold," she said.

Christmas in particular was "absolutely awful", she said, and no one had wanted to visit her because of the lack of heating.

"It's just been horrendous. Just miserable," she said.

Josie Parsons, who also lives in the complex, said her hot water was back on, but the heating was still not working.

"It's been horrendous. I've had to wear gloves indoors, I've had to wear a body warmer and it's been miserable, in fact, quite depressing," she said.

Josie Parsons suffers from bad circulation, which is made worse by the cold

She said she did not want to go out, in case someone came to look at the issue, leaving her "feeling alone".

Ms Parsons said she knew "people can't work miracles" but it would be "nice" if the housing association kept in touch about the situation.

She said some people in the complex suffered from joint, heart and chest problems "and if you're sat in a cold, damp atmosphere it doesn't help, it makes you feel worse".

The Magna spokesperson added: "We are working with our contractors to resolve issues with air source heat pumps at three homes on Orchard Way as quickly as possible."