Disabled man stuck in flat for weeks as lift breaks
BBCHaving been stuck in his north London flat for four weeks after the building's only lift broke, resident George Grimshaw said he had "lost his zest".
The 28-year-old is one of a number of disabled residents unable to leave their homes within the block on Wrotham Road in Camden.
Grimshaw, who has lived on the third floor for seven years, said being unable to leave his home was "really affecting my mental health".
A spokesperson for Camden Council said the lift stopped working on 16 March after a roof leak caused damage to its control system, and apologised to residents. They said the authority hoped to be able to fix the lift "this week".
Grimshaw said: "It's been incredibly emotionally debilitating, because they keep telling me one thing and then they say another. It just never comes to a resolution.
"I haven't really seen many people. I can't do the things that I would normally do."
He said some of the things he had missed out on included going to football matches with his father.
Grimshaw said the lift had broken down previously but not for this length of time, and criticised the way the repair had been managed.
"For it to have been out of action for so long is a disgrace," he said. "I have had to cancel several hospital appointments during this time.
"It just feels like disabled people in general, when it comes to these sorts of situations, they are not really listened to. I just feel like the council don't really care. It's not good enough."
Grimshaw said he was calling on Camden Council for compensation.
"The lift might get fixed in a few days, but the council need to realise the kind of emotional distress, challenges and difficulties this has caused," he said.
"I think we deserve some sort of recompense for the time we have been stuck in our flats."
Joshua Reeves, disability rights advocate, said he had issued a formal legal notice to Camden Council on Monday regarding the situation.
Reeves said the situation at Wrotham Road was "a critical failure of both safety and disability rights", adding: "George is under house arrest without being under arrest. This is just so unfair."
A spokesperson for Camden Council said that each time they had attempted to repair the lift, they had found "further damage".
"We apologise to residents that due to the complexity of the repair this has taken so long," they said.
"Although we repaired the leak and got the replacement parts we needed, each time we've attempted the repair, we've found further damage within the lift shaft caused by the water and continued electrical issues," a Camden spokesperson said.
"Our neighbourhood housing team continues to give support to vulnerable and elderly tenants. We want residents to be able to stay in their own homes and for the lift to be working as soon as possible."
The council said some residents had accepted an offer to temporarily move into a hotel while the lift was broken.
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