Furious residents claim a Bradford social housing group has left them with no heating for more than two weeks.

Incommunities has come under fire from a number of people, including the elderly and disabled, who are living in a block of flats on Church Bank, Little Germany.

The residents, who include a woman aged in her late 80s, say they have been in the cold since the weekend of April 20 and 21 because of a leak in a pipe.

In a further blast at Incommunities, they claim the work to repair it has either been non-existent or held up because the organisation does not have the blueprint plan for the building.

Yvonne Palmer, 65, who lives on the second of seven floors at Newcastle House, said workmen had been drilling holes in various places as they searched for the leak.

Mrs Palmer said it was found on Tuesday, but claims workers have told her repairs cannot be done until the electric and water companies shut off their supply in nearby pipes.

She said: “There are a lot of people who are elderly, disabled and vulnerable. There are children in here as well.

“It was absolutely freezing in here at the weekend. And I bet we won’t have any heating in time for the bank holiday weekend.”

Mrs Palmer added: “They are pushing us from pillar to post. Incommunities and Bradford Council keep saying they are doing all they can. They will lend us a heater, but who will pay for the extra cost of that?

“They did not know where these pipes were because they lost the blueprint for the flats. They eventually found the pipe at the bottom of a flight of steps.”

Andrew and Ruth Brook live in a flat on the fourth floor. Mrs Brook, 48, who is disabled, said: “They keep promising us things. It has been freezing. We have had to wear jumpers. Incommunities are useless.”

Andrew and Dawn White live on the sixth floor. They said: “It is colder up there, especially when the wind gets up.”

An Incommunities spokesman said: “We wish to sincerely apologise to our customers for the delay in fixing the central heating fault at Newcastle House.

“These works will be carried out next week. We have already contacted all vulnerable residents and households with young children to provide temporary electric heaters. Messages were also left for those customers who couldn’t be contacted.

“We have written to all residents at Newcastle House to apologise for this inconvenience and offered to provide temporary heating to anyone who needs it.”