ELDERLY and disabled residents in a Winchester block of flats were “trapped” in their homes for more than a week following a delay to the repair of a broken lift.

Occupants of Braxton House in Winnall, which is run by Winchester City Council, were restricted in their movement in and out of the building as the lift was out of order for nine days - leaving them with several flights of stairs to climb.

The lift was broken from November 7 to 15 despite the problem being referred to civic chiefs by several people living in the eight-storey block.

The tower block is one of four – Braxton, Craddock, Dennett and Earle Houses – off Winnall Manor Road.

Kenneth Gore, 74, who lives on the top floor, told the Hampshire Chronicle that residents were not given information on why they were left in the position of not having a working lift.

“We have disabled people in the block who couldn’t do their shopping. We have people in their 70s and 80s, someone who has just got out of hospital. It’s a failure in the duty of care,” he said.

A Winchester City Council spokesman said: “We are very sorry residents at Braxton House were without a lift – this must have been especially difficult for residents with mobility problems.

“All of the lifts in our council blocks of flats in Winnall had problems due to power surges, and all but Braxton House were fixed by our contractor.

“We will be looking into what’s happened and learn any lessons that can be used to improve our services in the future.”

This is not the first time that the lifts in Winchester’s tower blocks, which date back to the 1960s, have caused problems.

Back in 2012 the city council refitted the lifts in all four blocks, Braxton, Craddock, Dennett and Earle, leaving them out of action for weeks, though at that time some disabled residents were temporarily moved out during the works.