Military personnel forced to buy heaters at Argos because barracks are so cold

Wellington barracks
'Ancient' boilers at Wellington barracks have sparked complaints Credit: Telegraph

Armed forces personnel living in dilapidated barracks are so cold they are being forced to buy their own heaters from Argos to keep warm, it has emerged.

MPs last night said a “generation of underinvestment” in accommodation was exacerbating the crisis in recruitment and causing veteran troops to quit in despair.

Breakdowns in central heating and hot water are routinely left for months before being fixed and conditions in many bases are so bad that personnel are no longer paying for their accommodation, according to sources.

At the home of the Royal Signals, new recruits trying to grapple with complex signalling equipment are so cold that training has been hindered.

Meanwhile, chronic boiler failures at the RAF headquarters in High Wycombe have forced more than 120 personnel to live with intermittent hot water and central heating for the last three years.

Similar problems have been plaguing the Royal Marines of 45 Commando at their base near Arbroath in Scotland since the beginning of January, as well troops at the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich.

The complaints follow revelations in the Daily Telegraph last month that crumbling boilers at the home of the foot guards in central London, Wellington Barracks, was forcing soldiers to perform ceremonial duties at Buckingham Palace despite not having showered for days.

It has since emerged that Guardsmen have been using both their field-issue sleeping bags and normal bed clothes in an effort to keep warm at night.

The widespread unreliability of basic heating systems has heaped further pressure on the MOD estates contractor Carillion Amey, whose performance was heavily criticised in a Government report last year.

However, sources at the company say problems are often exacerbated because MOD bosses prefer to commission “firefighting” repairs rather than paying to replace outdated equipment.

Sign to Blandford Camp
Three accommodation blocks have been affected at the camp this winter Credit: Telegraph

Sir Julian Brazier, Conservative MP and a former SAS reservist, said: “If we want to keep good quality armed forces then we have to look after our people.

“These things harm retention - you can imagine those recruits sending messages back to their family and friends about the conditions.”

A source at RAF High Wycombe said accommodation charges - which range from between £50 to £200 a month - had been dropped to the “bare minimum” in recognition of the austere conditions, which persisted until last month.

“We are a 21st century RAF but we cannot even provide heating,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“No one has any money and no one is willing to spend any money,”

“In the long term it is most dangerous for morale.”

At Blandford Camp in Dorset, boiler failures have struck three blocks of living quarters and a number of training rooms this winter.

The problems have forced both male and female soldiers into temporary accommodation, in some cases for weeks, while officers in need of a shower are having to walk across the carpark in their towels.

A soldier there said: “We are expected to work with cutting edge equipment yet people are shivering in class and they cannot concentrate.

“It’s affecting everything.”

Meanwhile at RM Condor, on the Scottish east coast, approximately 80 Marines have had no hot water or heating in their accommodation since returning from Christmas.

A spokeswoman for Carillion Amey said those boiler issues had been repaired this week and that the troops had been offered alternative accommodation during the time it took to replace a boiler

She added that the problems at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, was due to failing pipework, the replacement of which was a "complex job" and has now been completed.

She also said a project to repair district main at RAF High Wycombe was completed this week.

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,” adding that officials continued to “rigorously monitor” the performance of Carillion Amey.

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