A father of four is furious after his family have been left without heating or hot water for a month.

While some were celebrating the 'Beast from the East' and the snow it brought, Jamie Hibbert, his wife and four kids were suffering.

"We have had to use little fan heaters which will only keep the room warm if it’s on full," Mr Hibbert said.

"They cost a fortune to run so we have had to only use one heater and in whatever room we are in.

"It can’t be left on unattended at night, so it gets so cold in here that your skin actually hurts."

M Hibbert's home in Franklin Way, Croydon, is owned by housing association The Hyde Group.

He said that since the heating broke four weeks ago, the company has sent numerous people out to fix the problem, but none have succeeded.

"It took them three days to initially come out to us and the engineer spent about one minute here and said it needed a part that he couldn’t get," Mr Hibbert said.

"Eventually they came back with a part and the engineer then said that he couldn’t fit it because he can’t do electrics.

"This was on a Friday and he said that an electrician would come ‘round over the weekend to fix it and then he would come back and fit the part."

But the electrician never came.

In the meantime, the parents have mostly had to cope with cold showers, while the kids have been forced to bathe at a neighbour's place.

To make matters worse, since the heating went down, three of his kids have become sick.

"They have been ill with a cough and I think it’s due to the constant change in temperature where we have to use the heaters sparingly," the father said.

"I think they dread going to the bathroom because it’s so cold in there."

Head of compliance at The Hyde Group, Nick Melling, was sorry for how long it has taken to resolve the issue.

“We would like to apologise sincerely to Mr Hibbert for the delay in resolving this issue," he said.

"Engineers will visit his home today (March 21) to carry out the repairs to his heating and hot water.

"We always aim to deliver a good service to our residents, but clearly our service has fallen short on this occasion.”