Millions of pounds has been pledged to save two crumbling tower blocks after a study predicted they could be uninhabitable within 30 years.

Tenants of Evenlode and Windrush Towers in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, have suffered from damp walls and poor condition of kitchens, bathrooms, lifts and security.

Now Oxford City Council has promised £4.4m to renovate the two tower blocks.

The city council report revealed the tower blocks could not be lived in past 2036 due to their deterioration.

Despite the pledge to improve the blocks, some of the hundreds of tenants fear the cash will not make a difference.

Gwendolyn Powell, of Windrush Tower, has been complaining to the city council and Oxford East MP Andrew Smith for the past nine years that her kitchen walls and floor have turned black caused by mildew and damp.

She said: "I've written a letter once a week at times and they ignore everything. My kitchen is damp and the mildew makes the wall black but the council hasn't wanted to know.

"I don't believe this money will ever happen."

A 21-year-old woman, also from Windrush Tower, who asked not to be named for fear of losing her council flat, said: "It will cost millions to sort out the damp alone so the money will probably all go on that.

"To be honest, I don't think the money will make a big difference. For that amount of money, they might as well knock it down."

The council plans to spend £1.8m on repair and maintenance costs up to 2010 and a further £2.6m up to 2036.

The report revealed the blocks were in a poor condition, but the concrete was not suffering from corrosion or letting in water.

Work will start later this year on improving insulation to end damp and mildew and adding stronger wall ties to ensure the structure is safe.

Kitchens, bathrooms and the communal areas including corridors, lifts, entrances and stairs will be also be improved.

A council spokesman said: "With this planned investment in repair and maintenance, these blocks will continue to be a valuable source of social housing for the foreseeable future."

The tower blocks were built in 1962 as the first tenants were moving on to Blackbird Leys.

Planners have also agreed to demolish derelict and vandalised garages surrounding Windrush Tower, and are reviewing putting in a concierge system in the blocks to make entry to the flats safer and more secure.