ELDERLY residents living in sheltered accommodation in South Zeal are calling for action after being left without their emergency alarms for more than four weeks.

Six bungalows at The Croft have been without working ‘panic buttons’ since a thunderstorm over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May.

The panic button allows residents to summon help via a control centre in case of emergency.

Tony Farley, who lives in one of the affected bungalows with his wife Mary, said: ‘The alarm system is a lifeline to us and it hasn’t been working since May 29. I have made constant phone calls to the housing association, Liverty, about this. It is not only me, all my neighbours are affected. We have an 80-year-old with chronic heart problems and it is vital for her.

‘I phoned up and just got passed from pillar to post. Then an engineer from the alarm company came out and said there was no power. He said it could be a power box in the vicinity that had been hit by lightning.

’Since then I have heard nothing. I’ve phoned up but I’ve just been passed from pillar to post.’

He said the electrics had also left the smoke alarm and fire alarm not working in his bungalow — although housing association Liverty, which look after the estate, did install a battery operated smoke alarm last Thursday.

‘They gave us battery operated alarms to keep us quiet for a while but at the end of the day I’m not prepared to take that as a token payment,’ said Mr Farley. ‘They have got to restore the whole system, it is the landlord’s responsibility. It is not on, the way they are treating us, we are all pensioners. We pay a service charge for this.’

James Reseigh, director of neighbourhoods at Liverty, said: ‘We have installed stand-alone smoke alarms in the affected bungalows at The Croft. As soon as we were made aware that some personal alarms weren’t working The Croft’s dedicated scheme co-ordinator has been carrying out regular welfare checks on residents. Alongside this we have been working with Open View, the maintenance contractors, to find a fix for the issue as soon as possible. Our scheme co-ordinator will be continuing regular welfare checks on residents as normal and will address any concerns they may have.’