Wheelchair user 'trapped in flat' after lift breaks

Abbi Brown says not being able to leave her flat has caused "a huge amount of anxiety"

A wheelchair user from east London says she has been trapped in her flat for days after one of the lifts broke and that she has been "made to feel it is my fault".

Abbi Brown, 31, who lives in Chapter House in Bethnal Green, says property managers Crabtree refused to unlock a door in a corridor that would give her access to another working lift in the building.

Ms Brown, who often needs a wheelchair to get around, said on two occasions she has had to crawl back up the staircase to her flat and, another time, a Crabtree employee told her on the phone "when you live in a block of flats you should expect that the lift will break sometimes".

Crabtree has been contacted for a response.

Ms Brown says there is still one working lift but property management company Crabtree refuses to unlock the door so she can access it

Ms Brown, who has lived in the property for several years, said the main lift stopped working on Thursday and, although engineers were sent to look at it over two days, it has since broken again.

On two occasions she said she was told the lift had been fixed so left her home, only to find the lift was broken on her return. She says she then had to crawl up the stairs back to her flat in pain, with her flatmate carrying her wheelchair up the stairs.

Despite calling "constantly", Ms Brown said Crabtree had told her it would not unlock the door, stating it was a fire door and must remain locked, that its offices in central London were too far away from east London, and that the property manager was off sick.

Additionally, Ms Brown said when she called Crabtree and explained she was a wheelchair user and the situation was causing her great difficulty, the staff member told her “when you live in a block of flats you should expect that the lift will break sometimes”.

"It's victim blaming," she argued. "It makes me feel like it's my fault. They have no idea what it's like looking for a property in London [as a wheelchair user]."

London Fire Brigade (LFB), when contacted by Ms Brown about whether a fire door should remain locked, told her there was no fire safety reason why this would be the case.

The LFB told the BBC it was in the process of arranging a visit to the building in question, and the fire safety team had "spoken with the resident and, as a result, has made contact with the building’s managing agent".

"It's caused a huge amount of anxiety," Ms Brown added.

"This is supposed to be the one place you feel safe but not being able to leave is making me wonder if I want to live here any more."

Ms Brown described the situation as like being in her “own personal lockdown”, saying she has been unable to go into her office job as usual, has relied on friends coming over to help bring her things, and is considering cancelling her doctor’s appointment on Friday because she does not think she will be able to leave the building.

She also said it had impacted her health because she had not been able to go swimming, which is an activity recommended by her medical team.

"I feel like I'm being fobbed off - it's been six days," she said.

"No reasonable adjustments have been made, there has been no suggestion of temporary accommodation, no apology. They just keep saying 'bear with us', which is fine to say if you're not stuck in your home."