A PENSIONER has been left out of pocket after buying a gas cooker only to find there is no gas supply in his kitchen.

Steve Matthews 68 said: "I spent £400 on a cooker and there is no gas supply. They have cut the gas supply off. They are now telling me I should have bought an electric cooker."

"I have got a camping stove and a microwave now and that's it."

The Moreton resident said: "I have lived here for 10 years and as far as I knew there was a gas supply. (in the kitchen)"

"When I moved in I had an electric cooker but there was gas piped in there. When they put a new boiler in two years ago they cut the gas supply and didn't tell me. I am being victimised again."

"They should give you the choice of whether you want a gas cooker or an electric cooker."

Mr Matthews said he has been told he will have to pay if he wants the gas supply put back in so he can use his new cooker.

"It isn't the money, it's the principle" Mr Matthews said.

Mr Matthews also featured in The Standard in December when he was angry about being ordered to take down a temporary garage he has put up to protect his classic cars.

He said: "I have been trying to get planning permission for ages and they keep messing me around. I have got two classic cars and I have got nowhere else to put them."

The temporary structure in his back garden is still in place.

Charlie Jackson, Bromford’s associate director of localities, said: “We will always work with customers to support them to make the most of their home and when we upgraded Mr Matthews’ boiler in 2015, he was using an electric cooker meaning the gas was capped as part of a standard safety precaution.

"Now that Mr Matthews has decided to replace his cooker with a different energy source, we would normally expect the customers to arrange a reconnection themselves however we have made the offer to complete this for Mr Matthews for a charge of around £80.

“We visited Mr Matthews recently and took measurements of the current structure in his garden and were clear with him that a surveyor would now consider whether his permanent plans are acceptable.

"We are aware that he is also aiming to receive permission from the local authority to put a new driveway in and we have given him permission to drop the curb as part of this.”