Mum's frustration after weeks without hot water

A mum says she has been unable to bathe her children properly for almost three weeks after her council home was left without heating and hot water.

Beth, a mum-of-three from from Ollerton in Nottinghamshire, first reported having problems with her boiler on 20 November – a day after heavy snowfall across the county.

Numerous visits by a subcontractor failed to resolve the problem and on Friday she said she was told the boiler and all her radiators would need replacing - but she would have to remain in the house.

Newark and Sherwood District Council said it tried to resolve any issues raised by tenants "as soon as possible".

Beth, 24, said she had been using wet wipes and filling the kitchen sink with water boiled in a kettle to clean herself and her children - the youngest being four months old - for two weeks.

She said the situation made her feel like she wasn't a priority because she lives in a council estate, adding: "I'm just feeling very deflated, stressed."

After an initial visit by a subcontractor to assess her boiler on the evening of 20 November, Beth said nobody attended again for for several days, prompting her to make a complaint to the council.

When the subcontractor visited the property about five days later, Beth was told a part was needed.

However, it was established soon after there had been further damage to a pipe connected to the boiler, she said.

On Friday, Beth said she was visited by a surveyor who told her work to replace the boiler and a number of pipes under her floorboards would take several days to complete.

The tenant said her requests to be placed into temporary accommodation had been denied.

"It's been really difficult. We've just been having to fill up the kitchen sink with boiled water but it takes four or five times of boiling the kettle before it fills the sink and obviously it's just getting more and more difficult as more time goes on," she said.

She added that her children had been ill over the last few weeks, with the lack of heating or hot water "adding insult to injury".

"At one time my daughter was sick all over herself and me while we were in bed and we were still unable to have a bath," she said.

Beth said the family had been using an electric fireplace in the living to stay warm, which she usually avoided putting on due to the cost.

She added: "It's costing an additional £5 a day. It doesn't sound like a lot but when you count all the days we haven't had heating, it does add up."

Paul Peacock, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said he was unable to comment on individual cases but added the council worked alongside partner agencies to "thoroughly investigate" problems reported by tenants as soon as possible.

He said: "At times these can be complex to complete, and our teams will support our tenants during this process.

"Sometimes there can be ongoing circumstances and whilst I cannot comment on individual cases I would like to reassure tenants that our teams do all they can to resolve repair issues in a timely manner."

Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.