Southampton grandad stuck in lift while suffering heart attack

Pamela Fitzgerald, 75, said her husband of 22 years was being rushed to hospital when the lift at Walton Court broke down in the middle of the night.

The 61-year-old grandad had to wait half an hour alongside three paramedics before being freed by firefighters.

Ambulance workers feared he wouldn't survive another ten minutes, Pam said.

“I was panicking, I thought I was going to lose my husband. My heart was going.

“I had a heart attack before, and I know how painful they are as well.”

Pamela Fitzgerald, 61 (Image: Newsquest)

George, who has 25 grandchildren, started feeling ill in the early hours of the morning and complained his left arm was hurting.

Pam said: “He felt a bit ill and came through about half past three and said that he had pain down his arm and on his abdomen.

“And that’s when I said, okay let’s call an ambulance.”

When paramedics arrived, they decided to take George to hospital and got him into the lift with a wheelchair.

Pam said she "couldn't believe it" when she found out they had got stuck.

She has lived at the Archers Road retirement complex for 21 years and in the past three, there have been several complaints about the lift not working.

Pete Bacon, 78 (Image: Newsquest)

Neighbour, Pete Bacon, said this was an accident waiting to happen as he had previously warned Sovereign Housing Association about the state of the lift.

The 78-year-old said: “It’s been an endless fight because every time it breaks down, we ring up and say it's broken down again. The doors are not opening properly.

“And they come, they fix the doors, but they know there's a problem. I keep telling them that somebody's going to get trapped in it. And now it has happened.”

George remains in hospital. He is due to be fitted with a type of defibrillator which gives a high-energy electric shock to the heart.

Walton Court on Archers Road (Image: Newsquest)

When contacted by the Echo, a spokesperson for Sovereign Housing Association said: “The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us, and we’re working with residents to offer support while the lift is out of action.

“We want to reassure everyone that we’re doing everything possible to get the lift operational again, and we’ll keep our customers updated on the situation.”

The company also said the lift doors will have to be replaced as they were damaged while firefighters forced them open.

It said the lift is serviced monthly and a statutory inspection is carried out every six months.