DISABLED residents have revealed how they have become prisoners in their own homes for days at a time due to faulty lifts.

Residents and families Poplar House in Rectory Road, Basildon, say the retirement village’s two lifts have been faulty for weeks and have not been repaired.

This means a number of disabled residents have not been able to leave their flats due to the stairs being too hazardous for them.

The Sanctuary Housing-owned complex has 65 flats and was built in 2012. It cares for those aged over 55.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I have friends here who cannot use stairs because they need a wheelchair, and that means when the lift is out, they have nowhere to go.

“It’s sad, as they have to stay in their room all day. And it doesn’t seem like its an urgent problem for the management. But these people deserve to live and have the opportunity to do things like the others.”

A woman, who has family members at Poplar House, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “The two lifts in there both constantly break because they won’t pay out for them to be replaced and I know people in there who have been stuck in their flats for days at a time. Not only are they stuck in their homes, they can’t get out to get food or to doctors appointments.

“This needs to be addressed as it’s appalling how the residents are treated. There are a huge majority who are extremely stressed and it’s causing illnesses upon them.”

A spokesman for Sanctuary Housing said: “We understand how important the lifts are to residents and are sorry for the inconvenience any intermittent faults cause.

“While one of the two lifts has been repaired within 24 hours of an issue being reported on June 16, our external contractor is awaiting the delivery of a specific part so that work on the second lift can be completed as a priority.

“When a problem is reported, our on-site staff ensure they offer residents additional help.

“We would also like to encourage anyone who needs extra assistance to continue to contact us directly.”