A HOUSING association has apologised to residents of Packington estate, off Essex Road, after they were subjected to four months of power outages and days without heating and hot water.

Tenants have experienced problems since January after a “significant leak” was found in the communal system.

Hyde Housing say they carried out excavations and used a specialist drone to identify the leak, and temporarily fix it in March. But they admit that a permanent solution, which requires new pipework to be installed, will mean residents face further disruption to the hot water system.

A spokesperson for Hyde Housing said: “We know this has been a frustrating time for customers and we’re working hard with our contractors to get it fixed permanently.

“We’ve kept in touch with customers and had colleagues and contractors in the estate. We’ve provided heaters where they were needed, and worked to support anyone with additional needs.

“We’re sorry for the difficul­ties customers have faced.”