Broken down lift takes two weeks to repair leaving some elderly residents trapped in their flats

Elderly residents living at Millbeck Gardens in Langley were trapped in their flats over the New Year period after a lift broke down on Boxing Day leaving those who couldn't use the stairs stranded.

It is understood that there is only one lift for two buildings and with the lift not working, some residents were stuck in their rooms due to the fact that they couldn’t use the stairs.

Dozens of residents, all over the age of 60 were affected by the break down.

Helen Wilson, Divisional Service Charge Manager at Riverside Housing, said: “According to our records the lift at 4 Millbeck Gardens was reported as not working on Saturday 27 December 2014. An engineer attended and discovered that the main drive unit had failed and a part needed to be ordered. The lift was back up and running on Tuesday 6 January 2015, the delay being due to the supplier being closed over the festive period.

“Riverside apologise for any inconvenience that this will have caused to residents.”