PENSIONERS who have suffered the misery of leaking roofs have been given an early Christmas present.

Earlier this year the Herald reported how £70,000 was to be spent on a major scheme to put pitched roofs on only half the flats in Silsden's Gloucester Avenue.

That work was due to start this month, but residents were told it had been delayed until February.

However, the Herald can reveal the reason for the delay is so housing chiefs can get enough cash together to re-roof the entire estate.

The eight blocks of flats, containing eight homes in each block, were built more than 50 years ago by the Ministry of Defence.

But little has been done to the fabric of the buildings since then.

Tenants had been complaining for years that the flat roofs on the blocks of flats were letting in water during heavy rain.

One elderly lady told how she had to move her bed around the bedroom to avoid dripping water.

And another 74-year-old tenant asked the council for planks of wood on which to stand buckets to catch drips from her kitchen ceiling.

A Keighley area housing spokesman said: "To be fair to all tenants, we are delaying improvements to the roofs of flats in Gloucester Avenue until February 2001 so that all the properties concerned can be done at the same time.

"The improvements are being made in response to requests from tenants for pitched roofs to reduce potential leaks and to make their flats more in keeping with surrounding properties.

"Although all the work will be done together, some of it will be paid for from the current financial year and the rest from next year's budget."

Joyce Fearnley, chairman of the Windsor and Gloucester Avenue Tenants' Association, said she was "over the moon" about the news.

"This is the best thing to happen to this estate - ever," she said.

"We were delighted when we were originally told we were going to get the money to do half of the flats, but that would have created some animosity between residents.

"I'm always telling people to stick together on this estate and that wouldn't have done. Now all the tenants will soon have dry homes and the place will look a lot better.

Mrs Fearnley hoped the next stage was to get new doorsteps.