Hundreds of boilers broke down and needed to be replaced in the East End when the pandemic began— more than almost any other part of London, researchers have found.

Statistics analysed from local authorities like Tower Hamlets show how breakdowns have totted up because people were being furloughed and staying at home all day.

Top of the list in London in 2020 was Tower Hamlets, according to the Online Mortgage Advisor research.

Top of London's 2020 list was Tower Hamlets, according to the research by Online Mortgage Advisor.

“Boilers have been working overtime because fewer homes were empty during the day,” its spokesperson said.

“We wondered how many boilers let their owners down during homestay and decided to analyse the government’s housing data to pinpoint which local authorities had the highest percentage of replacements.”

Tower Hamlets was top with almost 14 per cent of its 11,400 council dwellings experiencing boiler issues. That added up to 1,094 boilers replaced, compared to 774 in neighbouring Newham, which replaced just five per cent of its council home boilers.

As many as 15,000 boilers were replaced by local authorities across Greater London, including the thousand-plus by Tower Hamlets, the Mortgage Advisor survey figures indicate.

Four in every 100 of London’s 376,000 council dwellings had to have boilers replaced.