SEVEN weeks after the gas was turned off following a carbon monoxide scare hundreds of homes at a major Poole development have still not been reconnected.

The supplies at 340 homes at the Harbour Reach development in Hamworthy were cut off at the end of January after potentially deadly carbon monoxide gas was discovered. It had reached a dangerous level in one flat.

Problems were uncovered with leaking boiler flues, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), working with Corgi engineers, is still investigating.

Housing associations Raglan and Swaythling, which have more than 100 homes at the site, and developer Taylor Wimpey provided electric heaters, and in some cases portable hobs, and electric immersion heaters were connected where possible.

But residents were left without gas central heating through the snow and icy cold, and most are still waiting.

Richard McMahon, 25, a mechanical engineer who rents a flat at the development, said some nights got so cold he had to go to bed with a woolly hat on. He said the electric boiler took 45 minutes to heat water for a shower and that the de-velopment was also littered with builders’ rubbish.

He said: “We got a letter this weekend saying they would start work on the flats soon but they’ve said that before.”

A Taylor Wimpey spokesman said: “A number of the properties now have fully operational gas supplies with hobs and heating restored to full use.

“We are continuing to work closely with the HSE, Corgi and the housing associations to complete the remedial programme. We would like to reiterate our apologies to our customers for the ongoing inconvenience.”

Mick Gauntlett, of Raglan, said the HSE had yet to approve the solution for the housing association flats. The timeframe for work is not known.