‘A kick in the nuts’ – that’s how residents of a council-owned block of flats have described being made to fork out thousands for new doors and windows.

Leaseholders at the flats on Damson Grove in Chalvey have been told they could have to split a bill of more than £130,000 between them for work contracted by Slough Borough Council.

The council says the cost represents ‘good value’ for the specialist work required – but flat-owners believe it could be done for far less.

Joe Simmons, a flat-owner, told the Observer he ‘fell over’ when he saw how much he could have to pay. He said: “It seems like we’ve got no choice but to pay this. It feels like a kick in the nuts.”

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Slough Borough Council owns and manages the building on Damson Grove, where some of the flats have been bought by leaseholders.

It told flat-owners in July they would have to pay an estimated £5,432 each for secure metal rear doors and replacement communal windows as part of their leaseholder agreements. This includes a 12 per cent management fee to be paid to the council.

One leaseholder, Rukshana Amjad, said she’d been asking for secure rear doors since she moved in 15 years ago. She said drug users had been able to break in through the old doors and smoke in the stairwells.

But she thinks if the work had been done sooner, it may not have cost so much. She said: “I can’t afford to put up £5,000 for my safety.”

Ali Hussein, another flat-owner, said it would be ‘very difficult’ for some residents to pay during the cost of living crisis.

He said: “If you think of the cost of living crisis. One of the residents is a cancer patient who is stressed really badly by the cost.”

Mr Ali also says that after doing his own research – including obtaining quotes from suppliers for similar doors and windows – he believes the work could have been done for under £40,000 in total.

However Slough Borough Council says the comparison between the doors Mr Ali found and those Cardo has chosen is ‘not like-for-like’.

The council also says it believes the work has been ‘properly tendered’ with costs based on a list of rates set by Cardo or from quotes given by three ‘approved specialist contractors’.

A council spokesperson said: “The doors had been repaired several times over the years. When this was no longer the best option, the decision was taken to replace the existing timber doors with the more secure metal doors.

“The costs represent good value for guaranteed works done by approved specialist contractors which will ensure the building does not need regular maintenance in the future and offers the residents a safe and secure place to live.”