A Letchworth mother-of-two has slammed a housing association calling them “absolutely ridiculous” after they left her with a broken boiler for nine weeks over Christmas.

The Comet: Vikki and Alex Bishop with their two children Jack, 2, and Poppy , 5 monthsVikki and Alex Bishop with their two children Jack, 2, and Poppy , 5 months (Image: Archant)

A Letchworth mother-of-two has slammed a housing association which failed to fix a broken boiler for nine weeks over Christmas, leaving her family out in the cold over the holiday period.

The boiler at Victoria Bishop’s home in Creamery Court packed up on November 9, leaving her family without hot water or heating.

She and husband Alex had to fill the bath using a kettle, or take their two children – five-month-old Poppy and Jack, aged two, to her parents’ house in Hitchin.

Home Group, which owns the property, said the parts needed to fix the problem had to be made specially and said it could not replace them until January.

Victoria, 24, said: “Nine weeks without hot water is absolutely ridiculous.

“It is really starting to take its toll, having no hot water over Christmas was not what I had hoped for. It is not liveable and it is not fair on the kids, it has been a nightmare.”

A spokeswoman for Home Group said only one of two parts of the heater had broken, and so the family should still be able to heat water.

But Victoria said the water heater regularly broke down and was expensive to use, costing around £10 in electricity each time.

She said: “They have said they will send someone each time it breaks but it is still not acceptable. It is just so frustrating.”

She added bedding, furniture and clothing had been ruined by mould as they cannot warm up the house.

Home Group head of customer services Nicki Burton said: “Replacement parts for this system are not available off the shelf so we have had to order a new hot water tank to be made.

“The earliest the supplier can make one is the first week of January and we have assured the customer that we will fit it at the first convenient time for her after delivery.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult time to have a faulty water heater and we are doing all we can to support our customer and her family through this period.”