A PREGNANT woman had to wait more than a month to have working gas and central heating in her home.

Marguerite Keita, who is four months pregnant, moved into her house in Freshfield Avenue, Great Lever, on March 7.

Miss Keita, aged 24, called British Gas that day to report a problem with her electricity meter, but was given an incorrect code to get the meter to work and did not have the error addressed until nearly two weeks later.

She then contacted British Gas on April 23 to say that she had no gas card and could not top up her meter, at which point she requested an engineer to visit her home.

An engineer never arrived, despite the fact Miss Keita was told an engineer would come out within a few hours.

On April 26, an engineer was sent to Miss Keita’s home to reset her gas meter and put £10 emergency credit on her gas card.

As a result of having no gas or central heating, Miss Keita had to use an electric heater and eat out every day, costing her more than £100.

She will receive compensation from British Gas due to the delays in setting up her gas and electricity accounts.

Miss Keita said: “I feel like I’ve been treated really unfairly. I’m four months pregnant and they’ve done nothing about it. They never even gave me a heater — I had to fend for myself.

“I had to go to my sister’s house for hot water. I’m going to have to pay a £15 balance on the meter. It’s a nightmare.” Miss Keita’s boyfriend, Tofin Afolabi, aged 31, added: “The treatment Marguerite’s got has been really bad, to be honest.

“I have been trying to calm her down. She’s been calling me in the middle of the night and I’ve had to go round — it’s been really cold.”

A British Gas spokesman said: “I am sorry there have been unacceptable delays in setting up Miss Keita’s gas and electricity accounts.

“Due to an error, we gave Miss Keita incorrect information to get her electricity meter to work properly.

“When Miss Keita contacted us about her gas account, there was a delay in sending an engineer to reset her meter and getting her gas card to her, which unfortunately meant she was off supply.

“We have contacted Miss Keita to apologise and have made a gesture of goodwill.”