A BURY plumber is giving up his weekends and evenings to fix pensioners’ boilers for free this winter.

Chris Goldie, of Spinney Drive, Walmersley, says he hopes that in doing so he can prevent elderly people freezing to death.

Chris, aged 30, is the owner of Stark Contract Services, which has offices in Bury and Hertfordshire, and along with colleagues Michael Jackson and Sonny Moore, has already helped a number of people since making the generous offer two weeks ago.

He said: “I have an office down in Hertfordshire and an elderly woman went in there all the time.

“I hadn’t seen her for a while so I asked someone what had happened to her and they said she had died. Apparently she could not afford to get her boiler fixed.

“It really got to me as it is something that is so easy to fix so I wanted to help and prevent things like that happening.”

Chris then took to Facebook to offer his services. The post has since been shared hundreds of times.

It read: “This is 100% real any-one above age 70, lives alone with broken heating in Manchester area contact me I will come try fix it for free. #keepthemwarm #OAPonly“

So far Chris and his colleagues have been called out to help 12 pensioners, including one in Ramsbottom and one in Radcliffe.

They are also doing video calls on Facebook for repairs which can be done without going round to the person’s house.

For repairs which involve buying parts, Chris tells homeowners that if they buy the part then he will fit it for free.

The service, which Chris’s colleagues in Hertfordshire are also offering in North London, will continue until the end of January, although demand has not been as high as he initially expected.

Chris added: “To be honest, I’ve not had as many people getting in touch as I thought.

“I’ve spoken to Age Concern and they said that if anyone comes in with heating problems they will pass my number on.”

“I have also had quite a few companies ringing me saying they are willing to help as well.

“We are trying to run the business in the week then help these people on weekends and in the evenings.

“The feedback has been really good so far. One guy had just come out of hospital with a lung disease and we fixed his boiler over the phone and they gave us some really nice feedback.”

Anyone wanting to take Chris up on his offer should call 07792614236.