A WOMAN from Darwen says she was twice driven to suicide attempts due to the frustration of having no hot water for more than two years.

Julie Barton, 45, applied for a grant from Eaga, a social enterprise organisation which works with central government to offer insulation and heating improvements, soon after her boiler broke in April 2001.

She says the Newcastle-based organisation told her the work should be completed within six months.

Additional work to install draught-proofing and electric storage heaters was carried out earlier this year but Julie is still waiting for the boiler at her Alfred Street home to be fixed.

Last week she was given an estimated date for the work, in January next year.

She said: "It will be nearly three years by then and there is no guarantee the work will be done then.

"I have been on anti-depressants since I stopped working five years ago but I started getting depressed again last year because of this situation.

"My boyfriend lives in Blackburn so I had been getting a bus or taxi there for a shower.

"But we separated briefly last month and I took an overdose twice because of the frustration."

Julie, who has severe asthma after suffering from tuberculosis 20 years ago, was admitted to Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, on both occasions.

She said: "I feel they are messing me around all the time. I cannot afford to get the boiler fixed myself and they are messing with my emotions. They are messing other people around, too, by making false promises."

A spokesman for Eaga said Julie's first application could not be progressed because she had not provided sufficient benefit details.

A second referral, she said, resulted in Julie being recommended to receive draught-proofing, electric storage heaters and a foam-insulated hot water tank.

But the latter was allocated and cancelled twice by two installers before being accepted by a third company this month.

She said "A letter was sent to the client to confirm that the work was going to be undertaken and that the longest time the client may be expected to wait was stated as being January 2004. I must stress that this is the longest expected wait and does not necessarily follow that the work would not be completed within this timescale.

"Hopefully this matter will be resolved and the client satisfied with the outcome. We seldom receive complaints and I am glad to say that we are able to sort out most of the queries that come to us quickly and positively."

Anyone with queries regarding Eaga grants should call 0800 316 2808.