Young adults with complex conditions left without hot water or heating for weeks

And they will have to make do for another weekend at least as work to repair the central heating at the Sunbeam apartments, Penn Road will not get underway until Monday.

Lifeways Community Care provides assisted living at the complex for around 12 people who require special care and attention - they are amongst other residents who have been without basic heating or hot water since Monday, January 24 due to a major fault to the boiler.

The company that manages the property, Centrick, now says it will start work on restoring the water and heating supply on Monday, two weeks after the problem was first reported.

Aaron Matharu, aged 27, has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), autism and learning difficulties and has lived in the complex for five years. He is having to visit his mother Ravi's home to shower and is living with temporary heaters provided by the Lifeways staff.

Ravi said: "He is probably one of the lucky ones who can find an alternative for a shower and he needs to because cleanliness is part of his OCD.

"But for people to go without heating or hot water for two weeks is not good enough, particularly in January, it might have been better if they could be re-housed in the meantime.

"Lifeways have done their best to help, the fault really lies with the landlord, but it is not so much the fact there is a problem but the time it has taken to fix it as these are rent-paying residents and some of them, like Aaron, have complex needs."

A spokesman for the West Bromwich-based Lifeways group said: "We have tried to provide a temporary heating solution for everyone affected by the problem which has frustrated us as well because at this time of year, nobody wants to be left without heating and hot water.

"In the short time-frame and with a lack of available accommodation, it wasn't possible to re-house the residents on a short term basis otherwise we would have.

"The repairs which are being carried out by the landlord Centrick have been delayed because of the difficulty of getting a part but we have been told now that the work will be carried out at the start of next week."

Centrick said they were doing everything they can to get the situation resolved as soon as possible.