PENSIONER George Newson is to fight 24seven for compensation after the power cuts landed his wife in hospital.Mr Newson, 79, and his 77-year-old wife Edna had to endure two and a half days in the cold, with disastrous results for Mrs Newson's rheumatism.

PENSIONER George Newson is to fight 24seven for compensation after the power cuts landed his wife in hospital.

Mr Newson, 79, and his 77-year-old wife Edna had to endure two and a half days in the cold – with disastrous results for Mrs Newson's rheumatism.

But embattled power company 24seven, who ditched normal compensation pay-outs in the wake of October's storms, rejected their claim with nothing more than a standard letter.

Gutsy Mr Newson, of Stoney Road, Grundisburgh, has vowed however not to let the matter rest.

He said: "I'm going to have a fight with them – I'm all for that. If enough people complain and threaten them, they might come up with something.

"My wife has bad rheumatism in both hips and the cold affected it very badly.

"She's been in hospital for the last week and it all stemmed from that."

The Newsons' house is reliant on electricity so the elderly couple were left without light or heat and unable to cook even a simple meal.

In the end, Mr Newson was forced to go and buy a small gas heater.

He had no idea when power would be restored as his frequent calls to 24seven failed to connect. He said: "We couldn't even get through to the answering machine.

"It's just not good enough. These people must be held accountable – you can't dismiss cases just like that.

"You can't just say if we get some bad weather all the rules don't apply, because if they've got rules they should stick to them.

"£100 is not a lot of money, but if they said they'd give it everyone it would be something."

Mr Newson is now planning to take his case to electricity regulators Ofgem and appealed to everyone in the same position to take similar action.