A 77-year-old woman was left with no heating or hot water as temperatures plunged below freezing.

Hilde Moorby, of Pendle Drive, Blackburn, was left in an icy cold home after her boiler failed and temperatures plummeted to as low as -6C.

She was given an electric fan heater by Northern Counties Housing Association - but said it was too expensive to use. The firm today apologised and admitted the heater was "not a substitute".

A new boiler will be fitted this week and Mrs Moorby will receive compensation for her ordeal, a housing association boss said.

Mrs Moorby said she had had no hot water or central heating since the system failed before Christmas when tempetatures plunged.

She said: "I can't believe this happened when it was the coldest it has been all year.

"Just because it was a holiday shouldn't mean I can't get help. I didn't have a very good holiday. I just keep having lots of cups of tea to keep warm.

"They have provided me with a fan heater but I can't afford to have it on all the time. I have an electric blanket so luckily I'm warm enough in bed."

Her son Richard, of New Church Close, Blackburn, said he was worried about his mother's health.

He said: "It is not right to have an elderly woman treated like this. She could freeze to death. Some mornings she's been scared to get out bed it's been so cold."

Dean Butterworth, area manager for Northern Counties, said: "We sincerely apologise to Mrs Moorby for the inconvenience of being left without a working boiler over the Christmas period.

"We recognise that while we operate a year round, 24-hour emergency service, Mrs Moorby's boiler required specific parts that were unavailable to the contractor before the Christmas shutdown.

"We did, however, provide Mrs Moorby with an alternative form of heating but we accept that this was not a substitute for having her hot water and heating working.

"In view of the problems with this particular boiler, which is less than three years old, we have now decided to replace it and we will be compensating Mrs Moorby for her distress and inconvenience."

Paul Bates, spokesperson for Help the Aged said: "Last year in the North West 4,500 older people died from cold related illnesses. The main factors include poor heating. So it is vitally important that older people have hot water and heating."