An 81-year-old great grandmother today claimed workmen failed to finish repairs to her water-damaged flat - because Bradford Council has run out of cash.

Alice Dixon, who suffers from angina and is currently recovering from a heart attack, has been living in damp conditions since a plumbing problem in another flat caused water to flood into her home.

Almost three months after the leak began, and after an intervention from her local councillor, the Council finally agreed to plaster her ruined ceiling.

But now she claims the workmen have quit the work halfway through the job - and said they can't afford to decorate the rain soaked walls.

Mrs Dixon believes she is a victim of a cash crisis that has struck the Council's housing repairs account. It is facing a projected overspend of more than £1 million - just three months into the new financial year.

And hundreds of tenants face being told repairs cannot be done to their homes until the district's Council housing stock is transferred into private hands in February.

In an e-mail circulated to councillors, Robin Hodgins, the Council's head of housing, admitted there is a "current overspend" on budget which would lead to a "substantial overspend by the year-end".

He said: "In order to manage the budget and bring it back in to line it has been necessary to take action now. Following consultations and discussion it has been decided to place some interim restrictions on the day-to-day repairs which can be undertaken.

"This will involve prioritising repairs and not carrying out less urgent works, for the time being. In addition it is our intention to restrict jobs such as one-off window replacement to emergency situations only."

But today Mrs Dixon, of Holme Lane, Holme Wood, said she was stunned by the Council's decision.

"I think if the Council can afford to give £4 million to the Bradford Bulls then they should be able to come up with some money to pay for my wallpaper," she said.