A DISABLED woman claims she has become a prisoner in her own home after the lift to her 10th floor flat broke down just before Christmas.
Rose Selway, 58, of Garibaldi House, Grimsby, has not been able to leave her flat since December 22 because she cannot negotiate the stairs in her wheelchair.
Rose, who suffers from cerebella ataxia, a disorder of the nervous system which affects balance and coordination, said: "I am a prisoner. I am disabled and I can't go down the stairs. I feel trapped at the moment."
There are two lifts in the building, but only the one that has broken down stops at the 10th floor. In order to use the other lift, which services the odd-numbered floors, residents have to walk the stairs to either the 9th or 11th floor – something Rose is unable to do.
She is angry that housing association Shoreline has still not repaired the faulty lift, 10 days after it ground to a halt.
She said: "It's just not good enough. We pay our rent and we should have a service. There are other disabled people in this building and it's not fair. I just hope there isn't a fire. I think it is diabolical."
Fellow 10th floor resident Olive Tyson, 85, said: "I have to go to the 11th floor with my trolley banging along the stairs. It's terrible. I try to get as much as I can when I go shopping so I don't have to keep going out.
"The lifts are always stopping. I think they should reimburse us a month's rent."
Joanne Elliott, head of neighbourhood investment at Shoreline, said: "One of the lifts at Garibaldi House is temporarily out of order and we have made arrangements for it to be fixed.
"Due to the time of year, our contractors have not been able to source the necessary parts as quickly as we would have liked but we have been assured that the problem will be rectified as soon as possible and we will update tenants as soon as we have confirmation.
"If there is anything that we can do to help anyone who is particularly affected then we would urge them to speak to their housing officer or contact us on 0845 8492000."
