Residents of a Saltcoats sheltered housing complex have said they were left "vulnerable" while building works were carried out in the properties.

Work to improve Barnett Court began back in April and is set to end in later this year - but some residents have suffered from loss of heating and hot water in recent weeks.

Resident Linda Bach told the Herald she was angry over the issues at the complex.

She said: "At the weekend we were left without heating and hot water from Friday until late on Saturday afternoon.

"It was supposed to be off until Monday but I kicked up a fuss, so the pump that they couldn't get till Monday mysteriously arrived later on Saturday.

"Then on Sunday night the whole alert system went down.

"There is a woman of 93 there who is just out of hospital. The people here are all elderly with different medical issues.

"Old people should not be living in a building site and only two people have been put back into their own homes so far and there are 23 houses in here.

"Its a disgrace the condition we are being asked to live in and no one is listening to us."

North Ayrshire Council this week apologised for the disruption and said it would raise matters with its contractors.

Linda said: "When the heating went off I phoned the council and they put us in touch with the contractors.

"A guy came down from Greenock to put a temporary boiler in for us. He said it had been switched off but he couldn’t get into the main boiler room to check. It could have been a pipe or gas leak.

"He phoned the contractors and then had to phone the council but both said they had no key. He then had to go to Bridgegate in Irvine to get a key but they two they had didn’t fit.

"We called the repair line but the council still said they didn’t have the keys The guy who came out had been here two hours by then.

"We went 23 hours without hot water or heating."

Linda added: "On Sunday, we got a chap at the door saying the alert system had gone down.

"I have had strokes in the past and I fall down a lot. They are just not listening to us. We were then told the power would be off between 10-12 the next day to lay cables. I thought they were having a laugh.

“Another time the workers left the fire exit open, so there was no alarm set up. They were not leaving us secured at night.

“They are leaving us vulnerable. I am 66 but I won’t put up with it."

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The council is undertaking necessary improvement works in several sheltered housing units, including Barnett Court, to ensure our residents’ homes meet modern standards.

“We are committed to minimising the impact on residents and apologise for any disruption caused while the works are being carried out.

“We will look into the specific matters raised with our contractors in order to avoid these issues reoccurring."