A disabled man was left without heating or hot water for four months after he approached a Government-funded scheme for help.

Peter Burton, 62, of Station Road, Lydd, got in touch with Warm Front to see if they would replace his 26-year-old boiler. They visited him in June, told him it wasn’t safe and removed it.

He was promised a new energy efficient replacement, but this week he was still waiting for it.

Mr Burton has been getting by boiling kettles of water to wash with, going to bed in the afternoon to keep warm and at night having two hot water bottles and an extra quilt.

He was also under the impression the new boiler would be free - and was surprised when he was told his new system would cost around £4,000 and he had pay more than £1,000 towards it.

Mr Burton, who suffers with asthma and emphysema, said: “I’ve made about 50 calls to Warm Front and got nowhere. I’ve also been phoning the engineers who are supposed to be putting the boiler in, but I’m still waiting.

“I’ve had to have an electric fire on and I’ve now run up a big bill. I’ve had to pay for the boiler with my overdraft.”

A spokesman for Warm Front said the matter had now been resolved and Mr Burton’s new boiler would be installed on Tuesday.

She said: “We have worked closely with Mr Burton. The old boiler was condemned for health and safety reasons as the client was at risk. After that we worked closely with him to get the client contribution down and look at alternative options.

“Warm Front is a Government scheme designed to help the most vulnerable people in society and we have helped more than 16,000 households in Kent.”