A FAMILY-of-four has blasted their gas supplier after being left without heating for 10 days in sub-zero conditions.

Lizzy Ashley, 33, lives at Shawcroft Hall farm, Blackden Lane, near Over Peover, with partner Chris Richardson, 39, and her two young children – one who is just three-months old.

Their home has a liquid petroleum gas container provided by Shell, but the family has not had its delivery despite already paying £386 to the oil giant.

Despite more than 30 phone calls, Lizzy has failed to get the gas delivered.

And as a result she has been sleeping with her three-month-old baby, Juliana, and two-year-old daughter, Charlotte, in the living room in front of the coal fire as she battles to keep warm as temperatures plunged to minus 11 over the last week.

“It really is quite dangerous,” she said.

“I’m having to take my three-month old child to bed with me and that is not very safe. The windows in Charlotte’s room have an inch of solid ice around them – it is that cold.

“I haven’t got any hot water so I can’t even bathe my children. When I have been ringing up they have told me they can’t even tell me when it is going to be delivered.

“They can’t say if it will be tomorrow, next week, Christmas or even the New Year.

“All I want is to get some gas and be warm.”

To make matters worse, a car crashed into the telephone pole outside her house, meaning she has been without a phone line and internet for the past week so has had to contact Shell via her mobile phone.

Shell has to refill the tank because of contractual details meaning Lizzy cannot even get someone else in to fill the tank up.

When the family took on the residency of the farm, due to the details of the agreement they had to pay a third-party company for the gas but the terms have since changed and they now have to get their gas direct from Shell and no-one else.

“Everyone has had snow but surely they can get around it,” she said.

“I understand it may be dangerous going down a road with a tank full of gas but I just believe they should prioritise us, especially when we have young children.

“People may say I am stupid for running out but I had been checking on the levels all the time. We have to buy it up front and it’s not like we can set up a direct debit.”

A spokesman for Shell said the family was on the priority list for deliveries.

“Due to the recent severe weather conditions across the UK, we are experiencing difficulties in delivering to some areas,” she said. We are doing all we can to make safe deliveries to our customers.”

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