A SOUTHAMPTON man is facing a five-month wait for his garage door to be fixed after it broke - with him trapped inside.

Kevin Masters, 71, was trying to grease up the door when suddenly the metal frame slammed in front of him locking him up in his own council-rented garage

The 71-year-old pensioner was stuck in the dark for 90 minutes but eventually managed to unscrew the frame to get out.

Speaking to the Echo, Mr Masters said: “The garage door was a bit stiff so I was going to grease the wheels and the things inside to make it less stiff, as the council encourages that if we can repair it ourselves then do it.

“I went into the garage and the metal wire that holds the weights that open the door snapped and as it snapped it shut me inside."

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Kevin’s 14-year-old grandson who was in the car outside at the time couldn’t help his grandad as the door wouldn’t open from the outside.

The pensioner had a small torch on him to find his way out.

He said: “There were tiny little bits of light coming through the edge of the door but apart from that it was pitch black, at that point I thought to myself 'oh no' but luckily I had a picnic chair, so I sat on that for a bit and thought to myself, 'what the hell am I going to do'.”

After searching for tools to help him escape, Kevin then found a screwdriver to unscrew the metal frame and escape - but the door remains in need of repair.

As a result, Kevin is now having to park outside his home in King Street while he awaits the repairs to be done.

After calling the council initially he was told repairs would be done in October, but he has now been told the earliest repairs won't be done until January. He was trapped on August 2.

Kevin added: "I just can’t believe it'll take them that long just to do this."

A Southampton City Council spokesperson said: "Where council-owned garages are reported as damaged, we will make them safe and secure and arrange for repairs to be made as quickly as possible.

"There is currently a wait time of around four to six weeks for new garage doors to be manufactured and delivered; once we receive them we will schedule installation and liaise directly with tenants as appropriate."

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