Faulty boilers leave elderly residents freezing during coldest week of the year

As temperatures plummeted below zero this week in South London, an estate with elderly and sickly residents was left to freeze after boilers broke down.

About 50 residents on the Troy Town Flats estate in Peckham Rye are believed to have been suffering through the cold and snowy weather for a week, with minimal heating.

The homes are owned by housing association PA Housing and residents say it is the second time this month they have dealt with heating issues.

One resident, Brian Reeves, aged 77, who suffers from emphysema, which is made worse by the cold, said: “It’s diabolical. They get away with murder these scrooge housing associations.

“One old girl was so cold she went into the lift and pressed the emergency button to tell them she was freezing and didn’t know what to do but she was just speaking to the lift engineer.

“All the neighbours are complaining. It should be treated as an emergency.”

Mr Reeves said the heating was “as low as it could be” and that “if it was any lower it would be off”.

Residents claimed they have repeatedly asked the housing association to fix the heating problems, but they get little response.

Another resident, Dermot McGuire, 80, said he was planning to leave the building for the weekend and stay with relatives.

“I’m getting out of here for the weekend so I can get somewhere warm,” he said. “My son lives in Leeds and I’m going to stay there. I can’t stay here, it’s too uncomfortable.

“They’ve given me an electric heater but I have that on all the time so it’s running up my electricity bill. All they care for is their rent.”

Charles Ellis, assistant director of asset management and compliancy at PA Housing, said: “We are really sorry that there have been issues with the heating at Troy Town flats.

“After it was reported to our repairs team on Friday, our contractor attended the next day to identify that two of the three boilers were not working and were therefore affecting the building’s communal heating system.

“Although the contractor was able to get the system back up and running on Saturday, it had to be restored again on Tuesday, but is now fully working. 

“However, new parts are needed to prevent the issue from re-occurring. In the meantime, we have provided all our residents at Troy Town with alternative heating as an interim measure.”

Pictured top: Dermot McGuire and Brian Reeves (Picture: Russell McGuire)