Sheffield retirement home residents left without heating and hot water for days at Roman Ridge in Wincobank

Residents of Roman Ridge, a retirement home in Wincobank, Sheffield, owned by Sanctuary Retirement Living, have been left without access to heating for several days this week.

Heating stopped working at the home on Monday, February 21 and came back on on Wednesday before going off again on Thursday. Residents have also been unable to get hot water since Monday.

Barbara Bramhall, a 78-year-old resident there, said she was told the lack of heating was because new parts were needed to fix the boiler.

She added: “We were told there will be no hot water until Saturday. We have been having to get washed in water we have boiled ourselves. I have been sat with a blanket on my knees. It’s horrible.”

She added that recent extreme weather events in Sheffield caused by three storms in one week have exacerbated problems. She said: “The building has filled with water. The corridors are wet through and there is no lighting. It has gone through the ceiling for the second time.

“The living room flooded two years ago. Water is coming in through the verandas because they are not made properly.”

Water damage in Barbara’s property, for which she pays approximately £150 a week in rent, has caused damp on the ceiling and walls, and water to drip onto her bed. She said this will be the third time that repair work has had to be carried out at her property since she moved in.

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Barbara’s daughter, Tracy, spent almost half an hour trying to reach Sanctuary’s emergency helpline on February 22 and was unable to get through. She also contacted Gill Furniss, MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

Ms Furniss said: “I was made aware of issues with lack of heating and hot water at Roman Ridge earlier this week and immediately contacted Sanctuary to raise my concerns with them directly.

"I understand hot water supply is still sporadic and have made further urgent enquiries with Sanctuary to ask for immediate action to be taken to address this situation. Residents at Roman Ridge deserve warm and safe accommodation and I will be monitoring this situation very closely, and raising their concerns, until this is resolved.”

A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “Issues with the heating, hot water and lighting were reported on Monday, February 21 and we immediately attended the site, carrying out a temporary repair to the heating when we discovered pipework had ruptured causing water to escape.

“The new pump and pipework needed to complete the repairs have arrived and will be installed today (Friday, February 25), and the hot water will be switched on within 24 hours when the welding has dried.

“We have provided portable heaters for residents to use while we waited for the parts required and we also expect the issue with some of the lighting to be resolved shortly. We are sorry for the inconvenience the residents have been caused.”