A mother-of-six said it felt like “no one seems to be helping us” as she and her family were left without heating or lighting for days in their Harold Hill home. 

Kerryanne Higbee said that on December 30, as one of her children was in the shower, she went to check her fuse box as she could smell burning. 

When she looked, she said she saw one of the wires burning out, and so immediately called for an out-of-hours electrician to come round. 

The electrician, sent by Havering Council, visited later that evening and capped the fuse. However, Kerryanne claimed he told her that she needed to ring her electricity provider, Utilita, to get her power back on. 

Kerryanne, 31, claimed she was subsequently told by a Utilita electrician that he was also unable to do anything and that it was in the hands of the council to fix. 

On her experience with Havering Council, Kerryanne called it "frustrating", adding: “They have cut me off [the phone] four or five times. I’m just getting pushed around to different people.” 

She added this was not the first time she has had issues with her home and claimed these have included draughty windows, wall cracks and previous faults with the fuse box. 

In a household which includes one child with ADHD and another being checked for autism, Kerryanne said the issues have left them “desperate”. 

She said the council did offer to move the family, which also includes Kerryanne’s partner, while their power was off, but to properties in either Harlow or Clapton. 

Neither of these were suitable due to her not being able to drive, she said, “plus the kids are all back at school Thursday (January 5)”. 

Kerryanne described the experience as "so draining" as "no one seems to be helping with us". 

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But the power in Kerryanne’s home was restored on Wednesday (January 4), with both the council’s contractor, Mears, and Utilita attending during the week. 

A spokesperson for Havering Council said: “We continue to support Ms Higbee and will do all we can to help residents when these types of issues arise. 

 “Council tenants that need to report any repair requests should use this form: https://www.havering.gov.uk/info/20052/council_tenants/3/housing_repairs_-_request_a_repair_if_you_are_a_council_tenant.” 

Mears and Utilita were contacted for comment.