People living on a housing estate were left without central heating or hot water for nearly two days after an underground pipe burst.

Residents on Grahame Park Estate in Colindale said they struggled to warm their rooms and wash when the heating went down during the first week of December.

They said it was a problem that kept happening, and the council was accused of neglecting the estate.

Temperatures dipped to lows of around freezing on the days when the heating failed – Tuesday, December 3 and Wednesday, December 4.

Resident Yudith Villarrial said: “We heated up water from the tap to be able to wash. Even with the windows closed all the cold is coming in – they are not double glazed.

“It is happening all the time, not only this week. It’s through the whole year.

“There are many children living in this building. For elderly people, who have a chronic condition, the cold makes it worse.

“You get tired waking up early to get some boiling water in the kettle, and you have to be able to wash and go to work.”

Another resident, Tom Donnelly, said: “All the buildings were without heating and hot water. Purdy [a contractor] were providing heaters for people, but it was not enough.

“People in the community and [the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon] David Pinto-Duschinsky provided extra heaters and distributed them to residents.”

The council’s housing arm, Barnet Homes, said contractors “maintained a sufficient supply of heaters for all residents who requested them”.

Mr Donnelly said the council had “handled this particular situation quite well”, and the system was up and running more quickly than when it had failed during warmer months.

But he added: “There’s no guarantee it won’t go down again. There’s one centralised system, and with the demand on it, it can just fail.

“What they need to do is invest in a better system, but I don’t think they want to invest any money in the estate. It has been left to fall apart. It’s supposed to be demolished – but people still need to be able to live comfortably.”

Grahame Park was built in the 1960s and 70s and is the largest housing estate in the borough.

The council’s plans to demolish and redevelop the site date back to 2002.

David Pinto-Duschinsky, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon, said: “This is just one of a long line of issues residents have faced. There has been long-term neglect by the council.

“You hear constant stories of pests and vermin, and really systematic neglect. They don’t really fix the problems.

“The estate will be demolished – but that could be years away, and people are being left to live in terrible conditions.”

A spokesman for Barnet Homes said: “Barnet Homes is sorry that residents on the Grahame Park Estate suffered a disruption to the supply of heating and hot water to some of the properties last week.

“A burst on a section of underground pipework which occurred on the morning of Tuesday, December 3 required significant ground excavation works to locate and remedy. The repair was completed on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 4.

“Letters were hand-delivered to all affected households informing them of the issue and advising them how to access a supply of electric heaters. Most flats also have immersion heaters, which ensure they are not without hot water.

“Barnet Homes staff and our contractor Purdy were on site through Tuesday afternoon, evening and into the night, calling and visiting all homes with residents listed as vulnerable to ensure they had what they needed.

“Our contractors maintained a sufficient supply of heaters for all residents who requested them, and Barnet Homes also delivered electric heaters to the community centre on the estate for residents who preferred to collect them in person.

“Residents were kept informed throughout and following the disruption via hand delivered letters and updates on the Barnet Homes website and social media.

“The boilers on the estate where recently upgraded and replaced. However, the nature of the heating system means it has broken down in the past, as it relies on underground pipework accessing the whole estate.

“Regarding wider issues reported, a number of investment decisions were deferred when the original plans to demolish the estate were agreed.

“However, now that regeneration timetable has become clearer Barnet Homes have developed a significant programme of improvement works which will commence next year.

“In the meantime, we are working closely with residents on the estate to respond to individual issues raised, this includes pest control, repairs and estate management.”