Two people had to be freed from a lift by firefighters after it broke down for the second time in just a few weeks.
A resident of the Caledonia Housing Association flats on Victoria Street, and her carer, were rescued when the lift failed two days before Christmas.
Several residents were then forced to cancel their plans because they couldn’t get out of the building.
It was reported in mid-November that pensioners had been left housebound when the lift stopped working. It had only been working for a couple of weeks before this latest incident.
Joan Greer, 56, who has asthma, arthritis, angina and diabetes, hasn’t left the building since the lift broke down last week.
She said: “I was meant to be going to my niece’s for Christmas Day but the broken lift meant I couldn’t leave the building, so I spent Christmas Day here on my own.”
Kathleen Lamb, 67, suffers from an illness that affects her balance and causes her dizzy spells so is too scared to use the stairs.
“I have been stranded here since the lift broke this is a disaster for many people,” she said.
Last month, the case of cancer-stricken pensioner Peter Spence who had been trapped in his third-floor flat for weeks because of the first breakdown was highlighted.
Sadly, Peter, 74, died on December 20 after making a “Herculean effort” to leave the building by the stairs to attend the christening of his great-nephew.
His partner Anne said although it exhausted him, Peter was so happy to have made the event.