'Hell' for residents of broken lift apartments

The residents of a high-rise block of flats plagued by lift failures have described it as "hell".

The lift at Iron House in Slough, Berkshire, has been broken since 7 November.

One resident, Elizabeth, who is eight months pregnant and lives on the fifth floor, said having to climb the stairs every time she wanted to go out was "terrible".

A spokesperson for Centrick, which manages the building, said repairs were delayed because parts had to be ordered, but they were expecting the lift to be fixed "this week".

Shazan Qureshi has lived in his fifth floor apartment since April 2021.

He said the lift was also faulty last year, and was "on and off" for several months.

"It becomes very difficult when you're doing your weekly groceries and you're having to go up five sets of stairs," he said.

But the problem was even worse for some vulnerable residents.

Elizabeth said she would be forced to move if they did not fix the lift soon.

"I don't know what will happen now," she said.

"You can imagine me having contractions... how do they want me to climb the staircase?"

She said she could not go up and down the stairs without someone else there, and was having to reduce how often she went out as a result.

"On a good day, I should be exercising, going out to work, it's good for me," she said.

"But the staircase is prohibiting me from doing that because I cannot risk it."

Another resident, Ashleigh, who has a child with mobility issues, said the issue was "frustrating" and "it's been hell".

She also said there were smaller inconveniences, like delivery drivers being hesitant to come all the way upstairs.

"It's just little things like getting access to things that you're more than entitled to," she said.

Another resident, Aamir Khalid, said he was "appalled" at how the issue had been managed.

"I'd like the management of these buildings to take it seriously," he said.

"I'm 60, I can do three flights of stairs... but I didn't get my wardrobes delivered, people can't move in or move out, it's very, very miserable for people here."

The Centrick spokesperson said fixing the lift was their priority.

They said replacement parts were ordered in November but they did not fix the problem, so a different part had to be ordered from a supplier in Spain which was shipped on 17 January.

The spokesperson said, once the lift was fixed, an "independent lift consultant" would assess it to see if further work was needed to improve reliability.

You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.