A GREAT-grandmother of 83 has been left without heating in her Bolton council home for more than 96 hours over the festive break.

Mrs Evelyn Ferguson was frozen out Sunday and had to use a two-bar electric fire for warmth when council workers said they could not repair the central heating until yesterday morning.

They left behind the portable fire which the elderly woman has had to rely on, together with her own two-bar heater in the living room.

But when they returned yesterday, they discovered they had been given the wrong part, leaving Mrs Ferguson to spend at least one more night in the cold.

The fiercely independent pensioner, of Whitchurch Gardens, Halliwell, refused offers to stay with relatives, saying she preferred to "wrap up warm" and stay in her own home over Christmas and New Year.

Today her daughter and son-in-law, Evelyn and David Hunt, slammed the council for not having the resources to provide immediate help in emergency cases involving old people.

Mrs Hunt said: "I have been worried sick, and have been unable to sleep since the heating has been off.

Cold house

"It upsets me to think of her in that house with almost no heating at all. I know she is very sensible and will wrap up warm, but at her age she should not have to. She has even caught a cold now.

"I am not highlighting this just on her behalf. It bothers me to think of this happening to other old people who are perhaps not as fit as my mother."

Mrs Ferguson, who has lived at her home for about 30 years, rang the council on Sunday morning when she woke up in the cold house.

Her son-in-law, Mr Hunt, said: "I went around to her house and waited with her for the council engineer to arrive. When no one did we rang back and were told they did not know when someone would be round, because they were very busy and sheltered accommodation took priority.

"I told them I did not think that fair. At least in sheltered accommodation, the pensioners would have warm communal lounges to sit in. My mother-in-law was alone in her two-bedroom house.

"The engineer arrived after I had gone and said the pump was broken, but that he did not have any spares, and that it would have to wait until Tuesday morning.

"When we heard this had happened, my wife rang up the council and a second engineer was sent. He agreed it was the pump which had gone and again said there was nothing they could do until Tuesday, but that he could lend her a two-bar electric fire.

"But what about the rest of the house? Now, we have been told that another part is needed, and we will have to wait until a new one is bought.

"The Council can spend £1 million on improving Town Hall Square, but can not carry the spare needed to heat up an old lady's home.

"The heating is only two years old. What is the point of having an emergency service, when there are not the spares to do anything to help?"

Failed

A council spokesman replied: "Mrs Ferguson has been supplied with a second electric fire until we can get hold of the spare part for the heating.

"The pump for the central heating has failed and we are today trying to get the part from the suppliers so we can fix it as quickly as possible.

"In the meantime we have offered her another fire and told her we will pay the cost of the electricity of the second one."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.