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Pippa Hughes has been forced to sleep in her van because of lift breakdowns |
‘Trapped’ Woman’s anger over faulty lifts
“CLEARLY unacceptable.” This is the admission from the Town Hall about a lift breakdown on a council estate that left a wheelchair user feeling like a prisoner in her own home.
Pippa Hughes, 43, said her life has become a lottery due to the fault in her Bloomsbury block which has broken down more than 100 times in the past three years.
Ms Hughes, a trained make-up artist, who broke her back in a horse riding accident at 14 and was confined to a wheelchair chair at 24, never knows if she will be able to leave her home in Millman Place or whether she can get back in.
There is a mattress in her van for the nights when she finds herself trapped outside her home; she has also spent three nights and £150 on hotels.
Ms Hughes has waited eight days for special lift parts to be delivered from Germany.
She said: “This is my home, this is my area, this is my life in this area, this is where my heart is in London. I don’t want to be forced out of my community and my home but I’m trapped enough in my body and wheelchair – why should I have my liberty taken away?”
She called on Camden Council to rip the lifts out and replace them. The council has said they will not be replaced until 2012.
Ms Hughes added: “I’ve been told ‘don’t get frustrated with me’ and I say ‘It’s not personal but this is the sixth time I’ve called today’. There’s no continuity and nobody knows what’s going on.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The situation is clearly unacceptable, particularly for residents with impaired mobility, and any lift breakdowns in the building will be dealt with as a matter of urgency.” |
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