RESIDENTS of 24 flats at Goldsworth Park had no effective central heating or hot water from their communal system since the beginning of December.

Their landlord, Woking Borough Council, admitted it was unacceptable that people who live in three blocks of homes at Sythwood suffered a miserably cold Christmas and unwelcome start to the year.

The council’s contractors, Mountjoy, were initially stumped at the cause of the breakdown in the blocks, which were built in the mid-1970s.

Engineers eventually found that defective pumps and pipework blocked with sludge are preventing the communal system from working properly.

On Thursday, nearly seven weeks after the breakdown, specialist engineers flushed the whole system.

An underground leak in pipework has also been discovered and is being repaired, along with other worn-out pipes and components.

Resident Nicholas Betts said: “During Christmas, when it was cold, residents were getting the flu and becoming unwell due to the situation.

“Many of the people living here are elderly or disabled.

“The contractors, Mountjoy, have admitted that they don’t know what is wrong with the boilers.”

The council’s director for communities, Louise Strongitharm, told the News & Mail: “We would like to apologise to Sythwood residents for the problems with their communal heating and hot water system.

“These ongoing issues are unacceptable and in partnership with our repairs contractor, Mountjoy, we are doing everything we can to resolve the matter as a priority.

“Engineers from Mountjoy responded to resident reports of a defective communal heating and hot water system in early December. This initial issue was identified as being associated with the pumps and the system is currently partially operational.

“However, problems persist as the return temperature, which supplies heat and hot water to individual properties, remains low.”

She added that Mountjoy had arranged for a specialist contractor to conduct a power flush of the whole system. It is expected this will improve the system’s efficiency and Mountjoy will monitor flow and return temperatures daily.

“Since problems with the communal system were encountered, residents were offered electric fan heaters and many properties have immersion heaters providing access to hot water,” said Ms Strongitharm.

“We understand this is far from ideal, as costs of operating these appliances are high and we are working to resolve the matter urgently.

“Once again, I’d like to apologise for the disruption and inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience.”

To help them meet the additional costs, the council says affected residents will be compensated for the disruption experienced while they have been without heating and hot water.