Police escort for boiler engineer
Annie Tanton kept her coat on to stay warm while she waited
A 92-year-old woman was told she could not have her heating fixed until the engineer was given a police escort to her home on Sheffield's Manor estate.
The Kier group, which does repair work on council housing, told Annie Tanton it was because their engineers had been stoned and assaulted on the estate.
Kier apologised to Mrs Tanton but said it had a duty of care to its employees.
An engineer later visited her home, accompanied by a police officer, and resolved the problem, it added.
Mrs Tanton's daughter, Lucy Lloyd, said she laughed when she first heard of Kier's policy as she had never heard of it before.
"I asked him why and he said 'well our engineers are getting stoned and we're having equipment stolen out of the backs of vans so we're refusing to come up unless we've got a police escort'."
She said her mother had to keep her coat on to keep warm while she waited.
Groups of youths
A spokesman for the Kier Group said obtaining a police escort was only considered for calls to areas where they had experienced trouble in the past.
He said Mrs Tanton was seen on the same day her call was logged but added that earlier attempts to reach her had been hampered by intimidation by large groups of youths.
"A decision was made in the interests of the safety of Kier operatives to wait until a police escort could be secured that afternoon," he said.
"As a company we are saddened that the lives of those in the local community are being made more difficult by a small and awkward element of this particular area."
Annie Tanton kept her coat on to stay warm while she waited
A 92-year-old woman was told she could not have her heating fixed until the engineer was given a police escort to her home on Sheffield's Manor estate.
The Kier group, which does repair work on council housing, told Annie Tanton it was because their engineers had been stoned and assaulted on the estate.
Kier apologised to Mrs Tanton but said it had a duty of care to its employees.
An engineer later visited her home, accompanied by a police officer, and resolved the problem, it added.
Mrs Tanton's daughter, Lucy Lloyd, said she laughed when she first heard of Kier's policy as she had never heard of it before.
"I asked him why and he said 'well our engineers are getting stoned and we're having equipment stolen out of the backs of vans so we're refusing to come up unless we've got a police escort'."
She said her mother had to keep her coat on to keep warm while she waited.
Groups of youths
A spokesman for the Kier Group said obtaining a police escort was only considered for calls to areas where they had experienced trouble in the past.
He said Mrs Tanton was seen on the same day her call was logged but added that earlier attempts to reach her had been hampered by intimidation by large groups of youths.
"A decision was made in the interests of the safety of Kier operatives to wait until a police escort could be secured that afternoon," he said.
"As a company we are saddened that the lives of those in the local community are being made more difficult by a small and awkward element of this particular area."
