Heating wait for freezing widow in Coventry

[dutchman]

A 78-year-old woman using a single electric heater for warmth says she feels abandoned as she faces waiting till spring for central heating.



Margaret Mochries, who lives in Radford in Coventry, applied in August for a heating system to be installed through the government's Warm Front scheme.

She was told she was eligible and it could take up to six months.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change said it is a very popular scheme which means there is a waiting list.

'Sit and wait'

The scheme helps vulnerable people with their heating via insulation and heating improvements up to the value of £3,500.

"People are told when they apply that there is a waiting list and roughly how long they may have to wait," a department spokesman said.

"The scheme is not an emergency service. It is a grant-based scheme which is obviously very popular."

Mrs Mochries, who was widowed eight years ago, said she has coal fires which she can no longer afford to maintain.

The charity, National Energy Action, visited her to assess her house and helped her apply to the scheme.

"I feel a little bit abandoned but what can you do? You can only sit and wait," she said.