Yikes I hope you get it sorted soon Russ.

It's really worth while everyone having alternative forms of heating, for situations like this or if there are power cuts and then the ch won't work even if it is not electric ch. We have some smelly bottled gas heaters which can be used in an emergency if we have no electric plus loads of portable electric heaters - shame I can't lend you any! I wonder if any of your neighbours have a spare electric heater you could borrow? Do you have hot water bottles? Or even those microwave bean bags for warming up aches and pains - I use them sometimes just when I am sitting here at my computer (currently 14C in this room

) just to keep putting my hands on to warm them up. Failing that lots of cups of tea or coffee just to put your hands round!
Graye sorry to hear about your pipes

- I complain if my kitchen and d/s bathroom cold water pipe freezes but at least we still have water in the rest of the house.