Elderly residents left ‘freezing’ in Seacroft, Leeds, over snow-filled weekend after heating system breaks

Those living at Queensview sheltered housing in Seacroft – many of them elderly – were left without their central heating from Saturday morning onwards as the city was hit by snow and sub-zero temperatures.

One resident said that many gathered in the communal area to try to stay warm as frustrations grew by the lack of action to get the situation fixed.

Leeds City Council – which operates the sheltered living space – has apologised to residents as it continues to find a way to get the system fully back up and running.

One resident in her 60s said that a new heating system fitted in the summer was believed to be the source of the issue.

She said: “Everybody’s had problems with it and then I think what’s happened is everyone’s put the heating up on Friday and it’s gone off on Saturday.

"I’m really fed up. There’s loads of elderly people in here.”

She said that it took 40 minutes to get through to an operator to report the issue on Saturday and that replacement heaters were provided to residents.

She said: “It was freezing. Everyone was gathered in the community room with their blankets.

"I can manage but I think it’s crazy that there’s so many old people in there and they didn’t have heating on all weekend.”

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said this afternoon (Monday): ”We would like to apologise for the disruption caused to the residents of Queensview over the weekend. Once the issue was identified, back up equipment was delivered to the block mid-day on Sunday, restoring the heating and hot water system.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and are confident that the full system will be back up and running shortly.”