A DISABLED woman was stranded outside her flat for more than eight hours after workmen failed to fix the lifts.

Susan McLean-Grant, who lives on the eighth floor of Beaumaris Tower in the South Acton Estate, was dropped off by her daughter who left before the problem was discovered on Saturday.

The 60-year-old said: “My daughter works shifts at the airport and so brought me home at about 5am. I phoned the 24-hour line and they said they couldn't do anything until the day shift started at 8am because the guy on the night shift had broken the key he needed to get into the two lifts when he tried to fix them earlier.

“I didn't want to bother my daughter again and decided to wait and went to get something to eat at a cafe and go for a walk.”

But when nobody appeared at 8.45am she called them again, the second of seven calls she made until a workman finally came at about 1.30pm.

Mrs McLean-Grant, who has a heart condition and arthritis, said: “If I'd known it was going to take this long I would have gone back to my daughter's in Hayes but they just kept saying someone would be there soon. Nobody seemed to know where they were.

“Fortunately I had my car to sit in. Neighbours came down and were complaining, one said his wife has bad asthma and so was trapped inside her flat. The workman fixed both lifts but I had to call again the next day because one of them broke down again. It makes me so mad.”

A spokesman for Ealing Homes, who manage the block for the council, said: “An engineer responded immediately and was on site within an hour, but unfortunately there was a problem in gaining access to the motor room. We're sorry that there was a delay in getting the lift working again.”