Military heroes ‘forced to buy heaters from Argos to keep warm’ as heating fails in crumbling badrracks
Brave troops are paying less for accommodation in some cases because the conditions are so bad
MILITARY personnel are living in barracks which are so cold they have to buy their own heaters from Argos, it is claimed.
Problems with central heating and hot water supplies are so bad in some extreme cases that armed forces staff are paying less for accommodation, according to the Telegraph.
Chronic boiler failures at the RAF headquarters in High Wycombe have forced dozens to live with intermittent hot water and central heating, reported.
Similar issues have affected the Royal Marines of 45 Commando at their base near Arbroath in Scotland, foot guards at Wellington Barracks and troops at the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich, London.
A source at RAF High Wycombe said accommodation charges - which range from between £50 to £200 a month - had been slashed because of the conditions.
“We are a 21st century RAF but we cannot even provide heating,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“In the long term it is most dangerous for morale.”
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Boiler failures have also reportedly affected Blandford Camp in Dorset forcing male and female soldiers into temporary accommodation, and marines at RM Condor on the Scottish east coast.
The Sun revealed last month that soldiers from 16 Regiment Royal Artillery have had to get electric heaters at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island near Chichester, West Sussex.
A senior NCO spoke out because they have had to live in sub-zero overnight accommodation in the Sergeants’ Mess, saying he would be "better off in Afghanistan";.
A spokeswoman for Carillion Amey, the MOD estates contractor, said that the heating issues at Woolwich and High Wycombe have now been resolved.
An MOD spokesman said:“It’s vital that our personnel have high quality living and working accommodation.
“That’s why the MOD is investing over £4 billion to create a better estate."
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