Lift repair ends veteran's six months stuck in flat

A disabled Army veteran who has spent six months unable to leave his flat due to a broken lift has said it was "brilliant" to get outside again after it was finally mended.

Tony Swift, 65, lives in a first floor retirement flat at Fairways Court in Whitby and has used a wheelchair since a stroke five years ago.

He became housebound after the building's lift stopped working in August, and in October he told the BBC the situation was "like being in prison".

Swift said he was relieved the lift had finally been repaired, but added that he was still recovering from the effects of months indoors: "My leg and arm muscles are almost non-existent from being stuck inside."

"I fall a lot. I couldn't see any hope, but just being outside again – it's overwhelming," he explained.

Swift said that before the lift was fixed he had been "getting more and more depressed every day I was stuck inside".

He said that while it had remained broken, friends from his Army days had visited, and his son came from Scotland to take him to a family wedding.

"That was a good day – it lifted me," he said.

The building managers had installed a stair lift, which Swift said helped him get downstairs with his son's assistance in order to attend the wedding.

However, he explained that it was not practical for him to use daily as he would have had to leave his wheelchair at the top of the stairs.

"What then? Where do I go, because I can't walk?" he said.

Swift said he had continued paying service charges throughout the six-month breakdown.

FirstPort, which manages the building, said the repair had been "particularly challenging", with delays caused by "the replacement parts not being available in the UK".

The company said staff had been supporting residents by "collecting refuse, carrying laundry up and down stairs and assisting with food deliveries".

A spokesperson said that refurbishing the lift "rather than replacing it entirely" was the most cost effective solution.

The work was paid for through the development's reserve fund, which formed part of residents' service charges, they said.

Swift said he was focused on rebuilding his strength and readjusting to everyday life now the lift had been mended.

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