DOZENS of elderly residents were left without heating over the weekend as temperatures plummeted across the town - but Berneslai Homes have confirmed they are working to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Over the weekend, around 30 residents at the Woodhall Flats on Barnsley Road experienced a district heating boiler breakdown.

It’s believed it was triggered by a nearby water leak, which left a number of residents in Darfield without water for a number of hours whilst Yorkshire Water conducted work.

Couns Kevin Osborne and Pauline Markham attended the site on Monday morning after speaking with residents over the weekend, and an external company completed the works to repair the boiler and get the heating back up and running by 11.30am the same day.

Coun Osborne said he is concerned that vulnerable members of the community were left without heating, and admitted that communication could have been better between residents and Berneslai Homes.

He told the Chronicle: “I have received an initial report on the cause of the heating breakdown at Woodhall Flats.

“I’m assured by the report that this was caused by a localised issue at this site and further works and investigations are planned to reduce the risk of recurrence.

“I will be asking further questions covering the tenant experience of this weekend’s incident and will update them directly when I get that full report.”