Wyken tower block residents left without gas for 11 weeks

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Some 45 flats at Vincent Wyles House in Attoxhall Road, Wyken, have been left cold and damp after a gas leak meant the supply had to be disconnected.



National Grid says it’s a major job to repair and insists it is doing all it can to get things back to normal - but residents are unhappy.

Some residents say they have had to live on microwave food and takeaways since September 12.

One 85 year old resident said: “I am very cold, the whole flat is freezing because there’s no heating going through. They have given me a microwave to cook on, but I don’t like microwaveable food.

“At the weekends, I’ve been going to my sister’s house. She wants me to move in until the gas is back on, but I own this flat - it’s my home, why should I have to move out? If it gets very cold, I shall have to.

“The situation probably isn’t bothering the younger people so much, but for the older people it’s been horrible.

“The way I’ve been feeling for the last few weeks is if I could pack up and go I would. I’m so hungry and cold.”

Residents spoke of their anger at what they claim is a lack of communication saying they have no idea when the gas will be turned back on.

Leon Bradbury, 27, says he’s made special arrangements to stop his four-year-old daughter Keyonte becoming ill.

He said: “I am really furious at what’s happened. My daughter stays at my mum’s a few nights a week now, because I want her to have warmth in her bones.”

National Grid supplied alternative heaters and temporary cookers to the flats, but residents claim they do not provide enough warmth.

Michael Sandford, who lives in his flat with his sick wife, said: “I’m just angry that there’s no communication. We call, and call but they never tell us anything. It’s coming up for Christmas now and this is a damp bulding anyway. ”

A spokesman for National Grid denied the company had not communicated with residents and said: “We were called to the nine-storey building and found five gas pipes leaking.

"We had to cut the 45 flats that they serve off gas.

"It is absolutely not an ideal situation, but public safety is our first concern. We have had to re-engineer the whole gas system and move the pipes from the inside of the building to the outside for safety reasons.

"This is a huge project. We have communicated with each flat and the work is due to be completed by Christmas.

"We are in talks about providing compensation to those who’ve been affected.”

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Cold comfort for Wyken tower block left with no gas for 14 weeks

Tenants in a Coventry tower block who have been without gas for 14 weeks have been promised it will be back on by Christmas.

The 45 flats in Vincent Wyles House, in Attoxhall Road, Wyken , had their gas supply switched off after a leak in September and residents have been struggling to heat their homes and cook ever since .

Now, National Grid has agreed to hand out £1,000 in compensation to each flat – the maximum amount the company says it can give out.

Vincent Wyles resident Michael Sandford said: “Things started happening after the Telegraph story.

“They sent letters telling us that we’ll have our gas back on by December 22, and they’re now working seven days a week to get it finished.

“National Grid seem to be doing their best now, but these are things they should have done a long time ago.

“They’re going around with extra heaters saying they’re worried about vulnerable residents, but they didn’t seem worried about them before they got bad coverage in the press.

“Whether they’ll get it done before Christmas, we’ll have to see. If they can’t, my wife and I will just have to stay in this flat. It’s our only home and we don’t have anywhere else to go – I’m sure that’s the same for many people.

“I just hope they can pull this off.”

The National Grid’s compensation payouts are measured at £30 for each day without gas, but are capped at £1,000.

If the payments were not limited, each flat in Vincent Wyles House would be owed almost three times that amount.

Jeanette Unsworth, a spokesperson for National Grid, said: “We are regulated by Ofgem, and our compensation arrangements have to be approved by them. This is what our industry regulator tells us to pay in compensation.

“We believe we have responded appropriately to the problems in the block of flats. It is a very unusual job. We’re dealing with a nine storey block of flats and we’re having to lay gas pipes upwards.

“The pipes are currently inside the flats, and we need to move them to the outside of the building - we’re completely re-engineering the pipe work.

“This is an extraordinarily complex job.”

Coun Ed Ruane has been monitoring the issue. He said: “I’d like to thank the Telegraph for bringing this to our attention.

“Without the interest, we would not be where we are now.”