A disabled man slept in his shed for several weeks because it was warmer than his bungalow after it was left without heating. For a month, six council owned and operated bungalows in Surrey were without central heating - the residents included elderly and disabled people who could not heat their homes effectively.
Former fairground worker Eddie Sweetman, 52, of Horsell, Woking, took to sleeping in a makeshift bed in his shed after the communal heater for the bungalows broke in early September but Woking Borough Council has struggled to fix it. "They just don't care," Eddie told Surrey Live. "They're always quick to be in touch if they want our money, but when we need services from them there is no communication. We've just been left to get on with it."
Eddie had to quit his job due to breathing difficulties and curvature of the spine, and his ailments get worse in cold weather. His home was so cold that he spent his days out and about so his joints didn't seize up. The shed in his garden was easier to heat with a temporary heater so he moved out there to sleep.
Other residents have also been affected by the heating situation, including 88-year-old Shirley Willesden, who has lived in her bungalow for 28 years. She said that the bungalows had never experienced maintenance issues like this before.
Shirley has “eye-wateringly painful” arthritis which prevents her from standing up straight and needs the heat to help ease the symptoms. She shared that the boiler broke after a power cut and the council said it would take three to four weeks to resolve.
She said: "We were told at one stage that it would take up to 12 weeks to get a new boiler, which would have taken us to December. How long can we carry on for, feeling cold? I never thought we would be treated like this, with so little communication from the council."
According to Shirley, the council stopped communicating with residents unless they themselves initiated contact. The estimated time scale kept being extended with no end in sight for the freezing residents and winter looming.
Woking Borough Council did offer residents temporary heaters but both Shirley and Eddie said these were relatively ineffective. They noted the heaters also use a large amount of electricity so would contribute greatly to their rising energy bills.
Hot water was available through expensive immersion heaters on the properties but heating their bungalows effectively was near impossible. Although Shirley received some verbal assurances over the telephone that compensation would be available for any residents whose bills rose as a result of having to use electric heaters, she claims she did not receive any details about what this would entail and she says it was never put in writing.
Councillor Ian Johnson, Woking Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: "We are extremely sorry that residents of Wilson Way have been without a fully functional central heating system since September 2. The delays have been caused by difficulties sourcing a replacement boiler and associated parts.
"All residents have been offered portable electric heaters and the council will compensate tenants for any additional costs incurred."
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