A MOTHER hit boiling point after going more than six weeks without hot water or central heating.

Kelly Ainsworth, 23, was awarded a grant through the Eaga Partnership, which works with central government to offer insulation and heating improvements.

But she was told a Manchester-based company, which was due to carry out the work, would not be able to do so until November.

After making several complaints she went back to Eaga which cancelled the job and she has now found another company which will assess the situation tomorrow. But Kelly, whose sister and two nephews live with her in Aston Walk, Blackburn, said: "If I had not made a fuss I would have had to wait five months."

Her sister Kate's children Thomas, two, and Jack, one, both have asthma as does her own daughter Lauren, seven. All six including Kelly's son James, two, have suffered colds since the boiler broke.

Kelly, a full time administrator, said: "It is appalling that they left a family with four young children without central heating and hot water for so long.

"We could not even bath the kids properly without boiling pans for three hours. When it was summer we managed with taking the kids for baths at their grandma's.

"But when the weather changed we had to have the four kids in one bedroom with the heater, and me and my sister were watching TV with quilts around us.

"The grants are a good idea but they need to improve on the service. They should definitely make priorities for families with young children and the elderly."

A spokesman for Eaga said: "The waiting time for work completion from survey to work allocation, to an installer in that area, is four to eight months on average, which means that Miss Ainsworth's wait for the work to be undertaken was within this period.

"Warm Front is an extremely popular scheme and there is often a waiting list for central heating measures, which means that we have to complete work on a first come, first served basis.

"Our customer service advisers and surveyors inform qualifying clients as to the likely wait, though waiting times vary between areas, which is why we always encourage eligible households to apply early to avoid disappointment during the winter months.

"We looked at the client's individual case and have re-allocated the work to another Installer company in the area.

"We are satisfied that the client should have the work completed at the soonest possible convenience."