RESIDENTS with disabilities at a supported living complex in Bradford are still stranded in their upstairs flats because of a broken lift, despite a promise to get it fixed by last weekend.

Last week the Telegraph & Argus reported how repairers were struggling to find the right parts to get the lift at Wagtail Close in Clayton Heights working again.

People living there told the T&A that a new lift was desperately needed instead of repeated repairs on the unreliable lift that they have to depend on to get downstairs and out and about.

One of the residents affected at the complex run by service provider Habinteg and commissioned by Bradford Council is 30-year-old James Hetherington who is 30 and has cerebral palsy.

He said: “It’s still not working properly.They are still trying to fix it. They’ve got the parts they were looking for but something else has gone wrong now.”

The broken lift has meant Mr Hetherington and ten others living in upstairs flats have been stuck since it stopped working more than two weeks ago.

Only one of the residents is able to use the stairs but it is a struggle, he told the T&A.

He also said one of them was not getting out of bed because there was no point.

Mr Hetherington, who has lived there for five years, said the best solution for residents would be to get a new lift. He added: “We just need a new lift, one that we can rely on.”

Simon Callaghan, Habinteg Operations Manager has apologised for the additional delay following unsuccessful repair work and said the company was now looking at options to fast-track plans to build an extra lift as well as replace the old one.

“We are looking at options to fast-track our planned work including building an additional lift facility for the property alongside a replacement for the current lift. We will keep tenants informed about the plans for this work directly,” he said.

And he added: “We have put into place and paid for contingency plans to help the tenants affected.

“However, we understand delays of this kind are simply unacceptable. The health, safety and wellbeing of our tenants is our first and most important priority.

“Our staff are working continuously with our lift maintenance provider to return the property to the expected level of service as a matter of urgency.

“We are also working closely with the care agencies involved to ensure that our tenants’ essential care requirements continue uninterrupted.”

Bradford Council is aware of the problem but says there is enough staff to cope.

Meals are being taken upstairs to residents in their own rooms instead of being eaten in the dining room, said a spokesman.