As Powys woke up to a sheet of snow on Monday morning, one 81-year-old man had been waiting for more than a month for a heating problem in his house to be fixed by council contractors.

Elwyn Hughes, who lives alone and is registered disabled, said he notified Powys County Council of the issue on November 10, but more than four weeks on nothing had been done.

Speaking at his home in Llansilin, Mr Hughes said this was just the latest in a line of issues he has had with the council in recent months.

He said: “It’s absolutely scandalous. I rang them and they said someone would come out.

“I rang back at 3pm and was told, ‘whoever told you we could come today shouldn’t have’. On the 13th, I was told it would be another two or three days to get a new heater.”

Mr Hughes said he made numerous follow-up calls on November 17, 20, 24 and 29, and December 1, speaking to at least four different people – but was repeatedly told he would have to wait “a few more days”.

He said: “I’m 82 in April, I have got a bad heart, I have got diabetes, I’m registered disabled. There is very little I can do.

“It gets me very cross, I can’t for the life of me understand why nothing has been done.

“If I kicked the bucket, what would they say?”

A Powys County Council spokesperson said the housing team had been in contact with Mr Hughes about problems with his heating in October. They said the housing service was not aware of any issues since, but that Mr Hughes may have been in touch directly with the Heart of Wales Property Service.

Speaking on Wednesday, December 13, the spokesperson added: “We have arranged for an engineer to visit today to check.”