Elderly residents rebel and put up tree at home

AGROUP of rebellious pensioners ‘saved Christmas’ at their sheltered accommodation by taking the home’s Christmas tree and putting it up themselves.

Residents say bosses at Veor House in Camborne had ignored their pleas to decorate communal areas as the festive season approached.

However, a spokesperson for the organisation which runs the house said they needed to check the electrics were safe before the lights could be put up.

Pensioners took matters into their own hands, moving the Christmas tree out of the office where it was being kept and decorating the rooms themselves.

Eric Cawkwell, an elderly resident, said: “I have no idea why they wouldn’t let us have it. The fact we’ve had nine months of misery due to Covid-19 and then we have a chance of some cheer to put the Christmas tree up with some lights and they didn’t want us to have it. That’s what it felt like.” Mr Cawkwell told his daughter Heather Gower about the incident, who then contacted WMN sister website CornwallLive. She said: “The residents have been told they are not allowed to put up the Christmas tree and decorations which are being kept locked away out of their reach.

“My mum is now thinking of buying a tree herself to put up. What a bunch of Scrooges.”

Mr Cawkwell said he’s since been told off by Coastline Housing for talking to CornwallLive. He said: “I got a telling off. I got a phone call saying I shouldn’t have got in touch with you. I said I didn’t, it was my daughter.”

Coastline Housing, which owns sheltered housing accommodation Veor House, said they had to make sure the tree and its lights were safe.

A spokesman said: “We are sorry

for any delay residents experienced in putting up their communal Christmas tree this year, it was certainly not deliberate and we are delighted that the tree is now up.

“We are pleased to see all our sheltered housing schemes looking more

and more festive as we go through December and know this brings a lot of Christmas cheer to residents.

“We do, of course, need to make sure that any lights being used in communal areas are safe and not a fire risk. We will be visiting Veor

House and other schemes today to check that the lights have been PAT tested and deemed safe. If, for any reason, they are not, then we are delighted to say that we will purchase new, safety approved lights from our own funds.”