Pensioners Joseph and Barbara Edwards are fleeing to the warmer climes of Benidorm to escape their freezing Bradford flat.

Former piston inspector Mr Edwards, 78, said they have endured more than a month without storage heaters that were ripped out as part of housing association Accent’s refurbishment programme at Easthorpe Court in Eccleshill.

He said: “We couldn’t stick it here much longer. It was madness to do this work at this time of year.”

Mr Edwards and his 73-year-old wife said they had to buy three small heaters with their own money to get extra warmth. “The housing association gave us two fan heaters but they are only small,” he said.

“It wasn’t enough. It gets very bad on a night.

“There are lots of other people who have only got those little heaters. They should have waited until warmer weather.”

One resident in the same block, who is 95 and housebound, but did not want to be named, has been without a shower for almost three weeks.

“The problem is the men keep breaking off to do other jobs elsewhere,” she said.

Another resident, who also did not want to be named, said: “I’m quite warm in my flat with the fan heaters they gave me, but it’s not the best time to be doing this work with the freezing temperatures we’ve been having.”

A spokesman for Accent Foundation said it had consulted and got feedback from residents about the £1m work to install new kitchens and bathrooms and replace 1970s electric heating with gas central heating systems.

He said alternative accommodation had been offered and Accent was providing and paying the running costs for temporary heaters with the new central heating systems due to be completed by Christmas Eve.

He said on average the bathroom installations had been taking ten working days to complete but the weather had affected contractors being available.

“We have not previously been made aware of any dissatisfaction with the works being carried out,” he said.

“We are sorry if any of our residents have suffered any inconvenience, and will of course contact everyone affected to check they are happy with the level of temporary heating provided.”