A FATHER of two has today spoken of his horror at seeing his freezing toddler turn blue.Simon Girling, 31, had arranged to have his boiler set to zero before he and his family moved into temporary accommodation in Derby Road, Ipswich.

A FATHER of two has today spoken of his horror at seeing his freezing toddler turn blue.

Simon Girling, 31, had arranged to have his boiler set to zero before he and his family moved into temporary accommodation in Derby Road, Ipswich.

But when the moving date arrived, the work had not been carried out and Mr Girling's family were left in the cold.

He said: "The house got so cold that my two-year-old son turned blue – I was so concerned that I went out and got electric heaters

"If I was a 90-year-old I wouldn't be in the position to do that and I would probably be dead by now – it's absolutely disgusting."

British Gas engineers had arranged to call at the property last Wednesday but failed to show up so Mr Girling arranged a second appointment for the following day.

Again nobody arrived at the property and Mr Girling was forced to make a third appointment.

When nobody had arrived by Friday, Mr Girling contacted the Evening Star hoping to remedy the situation – the boiler was finally sorted out on Monday.

He said: "Not turning up once is forgivable, twice is annoying but three times is absolutely ridiculous.

"The property is very cold because the heating hasn't been on for months."

The family moved into the property on Thursday when their previous home in Chantry was no longer available.

British Gas advised Mr Girling to get an emergency card for his meter but the card did not work.

The company then asked Transco to visit the property, concerned that the boiler may be faulty but no error was discovered.

Mr Girling said: "Transco put £4 emergency gas on my meter but it ran out quickly.

"The problem has been sorted out now and a card arrived which my wife is putting money on today – we are just hoping it works."

British Gas spokesman Anthony Chmarny said: "We apologise to Mr Girling for the inconvenience he has had to endure.

"We have contacted Siemens who act on our behalf to credit meters and provide payment cards when asked.

"We have also offered Mr Girling a gesture of goodwill and are in discussion with him about that."

Siemens said: "As a subcontractor to British Gas and other energy suppliers, we set high standards for the metering services which we provide.

"On this occasion we have fallen short of these high standards and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to Mr Girling.

"We understand that Mr Girling's meter problem was resolved on Monday and that he is happy with the compensation offered to him."