I was left without heating for a month just weeks after giving birth – the council said to use kettle for hot water | The Sun

A MUM left without heating for almost a month claims the council told her to use her kettle for hot water.

Siobhan Welham, from Epping Forest, Essex, has a newborn baby at home and says a gas leak forced the family to have their boiler switched off.

The 23-year-old says four weeks on, the boiler has yet to be fixed.

Siobhan gave birth just two months ago and says her other daughter, five, has health issues.

She told EssexLive: "She suffers extremely badly with urinary tract infections.

"We've got to make sure she's on top of her hygiene and obviously we haven't been able to do that."

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Siobhan says when she told the council about the issue, she was told to use a kettle for hot water – which she says is "unhygienic".

She added: "It's just horrible. We're having to be all wrapped up 24/7.

"We can't be comfortable in our own home at the moment."

Siobhain says the council has handed her one electric radiator to heat her two-floor maisonette.

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She said: "They told me that it's not an emergency for them to come out.

"The gas had been turned off, so I had to wait. And I've heard nothing. I kept calling them and calling them to get them to come out, but still nothing."

There was also confusion over an appointment which meant Siobhan was expecting, and had confirmed a time, for people to come over and fix a new boiler but they arrived unexpectedly on a different day.

Siobhan has now got an appointment for a new boiler to be fitted at the start of December after the mix-up.

Epping Forest District Council said the management company responsible for fixing the boiler had been struggling to contact Siobhan to book an appointment.

But they admitted that there had been a misunderstanding over appointment dates and apologised.

It comes after a pensioner was left fuming after claiming to be left with no hot water or heating for a week when her smart meter stopped working.

Margaret Rees, 79, says she was shocked to wake up one morning and find she had no gas supply in her home in Port Talbot, Wales.

As a result, she claims to have been forced to sleep on the sofa with only an electric fire to keep her warm.

Margaret is largely housebound and uses a Zimmer frame indoors and a wheelchair when she ever ventures outside.

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