THE owners of a block of serviced flats in Kendal has apologised to disabled residents after a broken lift left them unable to leave the building.

The lift at Kirkland View, which services all 36 flats in the complex, had been out of service since May 14, according to carer Jane Allen.

Lorna Brooksbank, a wheelchair-bound woman under her care, lives in one of the upstairs flats and her father Chris was forced to hire two ambulance crews to physically carry her out of the building to attend a hospital appointment.

The building is owned by property company Riverside, with 24-hour on-site resident care and support provided by an external care provider.

Upon reporting the problem to Riverside, Chris said he was informed that the parts to fix the lift had been ordered, and would not arrive until June 5, leaving residents stranded until then.

READ MORE: 'Please help us' - Disabled residents trapped due to broken lift

Jane approached The Westmorland Gazette in an effort to highlight the plight of the residents, given that the lift had also broken down on a previous occasion.

A spokesman from Riverside said: "We want to sincerely apologise to the residents of Kirkland View for any inconvenience caused by the lift temporarily being out of service. 

"The lift engineers were on site on Friday, May 26, to install the new part and we can confirm it is now fixed. 

"Unfortunately, the lift had stopped working on Sunday, May 14, and required the replacement of an obscure part.

"There was a delay in fixing the lift due to supplier delays, which required us to approach several suppliers before we could source the part needed. 

"A team of 24/7 on-site carers have been assisting residents during this time and all residents have had access to a 24-hour helpline service. 

"We had only received one previous report on Wednesday, April 26, about the lift experiencing issues, which was quickly resolved on Friday, April 28.

"We do not anticipate this to be a recurring problem. 

"We are satisfied that the lift is now operational but have scheduled for a senior engineer to attend to carry out a follow-up inspection. 

"We are genuinely sorry it has taken longer than expected to resolve the issue and will be working with residents to address any concerns."