A woman with multiple sclerosis who says taking cold showers "is like undergoing a thousand electric shocks" has been left "in tears" at having no hot water.

Nancy Rolfe's boiler was turned off in the early hours of Saturday by an emergency engineer after the carbon monoxide alarm sounded at the property in Oaken Wood Drive, Maidstone.

But because it is a bank holiday weekend, landlord Hyde Housing was unable to arrange repairs to the boiler to get the hot water back on.

For most people, a few days in these circumstances would not be a problem - after all, you can always boil water on the stove

But for Mrs Rolfe and her husband Christian, who also suffers from MS, that is not possible. The condition has not only left them in wheelchairs, but also with very weak hands.

Mrs Rolfe said: "It's unsafe for us to boil a saucepan - we do all our cooking in the microwave!"

To make matters worse, Mrs Rolfe suffers from contamination obsessive compulsive disorder. It means she can't stand the thought of being dirty and has to wash or shower frequently.

Meanwhile, her husband has recently undergone treatment for bowel cancer which has left him with a permanent stoma bag. To remain safe, he too has to wash frequently.

Mrs Rolfe said: "I've been so upset and in tears. I'm fighting with myself.

"Because of my OCD, I've been having to take cold showers, but with my MS cold water is unbearable. The water on my body is like undergoing a thousand electric shocks.

"I wish Hyde would send someone out straight away. We are registered with them as disabled and should receive priority treatment."

Hyde responded quickly to safety concerns. When the Rolfes' carbon monoxide alarm sounded at 2am on Saturday, they sent an emergency engineer from SGN there within two hours. When it sounded again at 8am, they sent a second engineer just an hour later.

But both engineers were only to carry out immediate safety actions and not repair the gas boiler. Mrs Rolfe has been told that because of its being a bank holiday weekend, their need for a repair cannot even be logged until Tuesday.

She said: "That will be four days! It's unbearable! Is nobody willing to help us?"

The couple met through an MS support network website.

KentOnline has contacted Hyde for comment.