Tower block residents say lifts are 'constantly' breaking down

Julia McBride said she could not walk up and down the stairs

Residents of a Nottingham block of flats say its "constantly broken" lifts are causing problems for those with disabilities or mobility issues.

Nottingham City Council said it replaced the lifts for the Victoria Centre flats four years ago.

But some residents say problems remain and the lifts are breaking "more often", most recently, last weekend.

The council said it contacted vulnerable residents on Saturday to offer support.

The lifts at the Victoria Centre make about 1,000 journeys each day, and according to the council, have a high "operational rate".

The city council previously said it spent £2m on new lifts

Julia McBride, 80, has lived in the building, on the 24th floor, since 1991. She said living above the Victoria Centre was "lovely" because of its proximity to the shops and other amenities, but that when the lifts did not work, she stayed in - sometimes for up to five days.

"The trouble is, if you're somebody of my age and the lifts are down, then you're just kind of stuck inside, and they go off so often now that it's ridiculous," she said.

On one occasion, a resident said an ambulance crew struggled to get to his wife, who was unwell and having breathing difficulties.

Anthony Wilson-Greatorex said: "They attempted to get up here and they couldn't, so I went down, and I had to bring them through the Victoria Centre itself, get them on to the lift, and bring them up.

"That 10 minutes could be vital. It was terrifying because my wife was literally grey."

Tony Creedon said although the lifts were replaced "a few years ago", problems remained

Tony Creedon, 68, has mobility issues due to arthritis but said he often had to help others trying to reach their flats when the lifts were down.

"When I moved in here, I was told this was for people with disabilities and working people, but the issue is when [the lifts] are broken down, there is no safe or easy alternative," he said.

Cerys Tudor, a 25-year-old student, said her experience living in the flats had been "positive" but had noticed "people struggling".

A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: "When lift outages like the one at the weekend occur, our priority is always the safety of residents.

"We have details for all our potentially vulnerable tenants, and on Saturday afternoon we spoke to people on this list, in person, at their front doors to make sure they were supported and had contact details for the council if they needed anything.

"We work closely with our blue-light partners to minimise risk in all our high-rises at all times."