UNITED Utilities is encouraging people in Sale and Altrincham to extend a little Winter Wise warmth towards isolated older people as temperatures start to fall.
As well as helping householders to fight the freeze in their own homes through its Winter Wise campaign, the water company is urging people to support Contact the Elderly, a national charity tackling isolation among older people by organising regular Sunday afternoon tea parties.
Contact the Elderly is recruiting volunteers and seeking guests as it builds on the success of its group in Timperley, which recently held a meeting at the Timperley Methodist Church.
Stuart Atkinson, United Utilities water network manager, said: “We would like as many people as possible to become Freeze Fighters this winter, helping themselves and others to avoid the misery of burst frozen pipes.
“As well as encouraging homeowners to fight the freeze in their own homes, through our partnership with Contact the Elderly, we also hope to spread warmth in other ways by highlighting the charity’s great work and helping it to recruit volunteers.
“While frozen pipes are something that people only need to be concerned with in winter, isolation is something which affects many older people all year. Contact the Elderly’s volunteers make a real difference.”
United Utilities has donated £3,000 in DIY store vouchers to the charity which will be used by volunteers from the water company to help Contact the Elderly guests buy pipe lagging materials and other items to prepare their homes for winter.
The partnership is part of the United Utilities Winter Wise campaign to spread practical advice on preventing the misery of a burst frozen pipe.
United Utilities recommends that householders:-
Lag pipes so they are much less likely to freeze.
Find and label your stop tap – the tap which controls water supply to your house, so you know where to turn the water off if you do get a burst.
Keep the number of a good plumber handy, just in case.
Find out more about becoming a Contact the Elderly volunteer by visiting contact-the-elderly.org.uk/ or get in touch with North West development officer Gwen Lightfoot on 01925 728969 or email: Gwen.Lightfoot@contact-the-elderly.org.uk
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