A Guardbridge man has claimed he has been forced to live in an “ice box” after Fife Council left him without hot water for 11 days.
Alan Smart has attacked the local authority for failing to treat his situation as an emergency when his attic water tank burst in his Toll Road home.
Mr Smart’s ceiling collapsed on Friday October 11, leaving him with a gaping hole in the roof of his house and no hot water or heating.
Council repair men were scheduled to finally arrive at his house today but that is far too late a response according to a fuming Mr Smart.
He said: “I spoke to them after a week and they said it was going to be another four days before they could get any work done. That will be 11 days in total without hot water and heating now.
“I am not very happy at all. The water has absolutely burst through my roof and come right through my ceiling.
“I haven’t got any hot water at all. I’ve been going to my friend’s house for a shower but that’s not convenient for either of us. The council don’t seem to bother.
“It’s having no heating that is a big problem. I’ve been having to go to my bed to keep warm at night. I can’t even sit and watch the TV. If I don’t go to my friend’s house then I am in my bed for about 8 or 9pm as it’s like an ice box.”
Mr Smart, who previously worked as a civilian worker for RAF Leuchars, has lived in the house since childhood, and took over the tenancy when his parents moved out 22 years ago.
His fury has been heightened due to this being the second time he has had such issues with the local authority. After his water tank had burst in 2006 he was also made to wait more than a week before it was replaced.
At that time Mr Smart’s brother had been in the house when the ceiling of the spare room caved in with a terrifying crash.
The brothers had been in the process of decorating the room and had just laid a new carpet.
Mr Smart said: “By chance my brother was in the other room, otherwise he would have ended up in hospital.”
At that time he claimed that the tank had been leaking for three years, as water had seeped through the joists and insulation of his three-bedroom house a suggestion which the council denied.
This previous experience, added to the latest episode, has fuelled Mr Smart’s frustration with the lack of action by the council.
He said: “I’m close to climbing the walls. This is the second time that this has happened. What a mess it was before and it’s a mess again. The council just don’t seem to be interested.
“I’ve managed to put some buckets underneath it like they suggested.
“They also suggested I could boil some hot water to get a bath or go to my mother’s house. My mother is 74 years old so it is not easy to do that.
“What is classed as an emergency?
“I am sitting in the cold with a house like a fridge. They said that it would not be until Tuesday that they come out but I will believe it when I see it.”
Fife Council area housing and neighbourhood team leader for north-east Fife Colin Gilbert said the council were aware of Mr Smart’s situation and that they were working towards resolving the situation to his satisfaction.