ANGRY tenants in a housing estate for elderly and vulnerable people hit out against its developer for failing to carry out maintenance and renovations.

More than 30 fed-up neighbours on Willow Walk in Wroughton signed a petition complaining to Sanctuary Housing about the lack of promised improvements to 35-year-old houses.

Liz Gough, 58, moved in eight years ago with autoimmune issues and started the petition. She said: "Something has to be done, we've had enough of fighting for each repair.

"Everybody has an issue that needs to be sorted and we are going to keep at this until Sanctuary finally take notice.

"The heaters are decades old, use up a lot of electricity and are hopeless but we're stuck with them. They add so much to my electricity bill that I can't afford to keep them on even though my husband's just been diagnosed with cancer."

Angela Baker, 57, struggles with arthritis and spent two years fighting for much-needed maintenance.

She said: "I've had so many breakdowns because one thing after another goes wrong and I can't cope. If I hadn't got my local MP involved, nothing would have changed.

"The heating packed up the winter I moved in and took so long to get fixed that I got pneumonia. We are a close-knit community and have to look out for each other because we can't rely on Sanctuary."

When Joan Ford, 86, moved in 16 years ago, she was promised new central heating, double-glazed windows and other upgrades that never came.

She got tired of waiting and paid out of her own pocket to modify the kitchen and now needs a wetroom for her poorly husband John.

She said: "It's unfair. Everything falls on deaf ears and it's frustrating that they don't take anything we say on board. We just want a good standard of living without having to worry."

A Sanctuary Housing spokesman said: “We received this petition last week and are taking it very seriously. Our local team will be holding detailed discussions with residents to talk about their concerns and we are committed to working with them to ensure the points they have raised are addressed.

“Condition surveys were carried out on Willow Walk earlier this year and reinvestment work is already being planned as a result of these.”

The petition has been sent to Coun Brian Ford and South Swindon MP Robert Buckland. Coun Ford said: "We have just delivered a leaflet telling them that we will call on residents in two weeks to find out their problems then contact Sanctuary to discuss their issues and see how we can help get them resolved."