PEOPLE with disabilities were left stranded in their homes for almost a week while they waited for a lift to be repaired.

One resident of the Bournemouth block resorted to crawling down the stairs.

As a result the resident was left with visible bruising on his abdomen, a neighbour says.

Shaftesbury Court, on Wimborne Road in Bournemouth, provides supported accommodation for 18 residents, who receive round-the-clock help.

But the lift broke down on the evening of Friday September 1 and residents say they were left in the dark about when it will be fixed.

Resident Daniel White said: “It went out on Friday night. There are 14 residents on the floor.

“Everybody downstairs is able bodied enough to talk. Everybody upstairs is not. We’re all in wheelchairs. I’m paralysed and others have cerebral palsy.”

He said residents had been unable to go out and had missed appointments.

“I’ve got an assistance dog. She needs to go out every three to four hours. I’ve had to call my mum to come from the other end of Winton to take my dog out,” he said.

One neighbour had crawled downstairs to get out, he said.

“This person has a wheelchair appointment every year. If he doesn’t make it, he misses it for another year.

“He got his dad, who’s about 75, to help him come downstairs but he has cerebral palsy really bad. He’s got bruises all over his stomach and his arm,” he said.

The lift was back in operation on Thursday September 7 at the accommodation, but Mr White said he was disappointed with how the residents had been treated and the whole situation was "completely out of order".

The building is managed by Spectrum Housing Group, which is part of Sovereign Housing Association.

A spokesperson for Sovereign said: "We’re sorry for any inconvenience to our residents at Shaftesbury Court recently.

"Unfortunately, occasionally lifts will break down, and the problem at Shaftesbury Court required parts to be ordered and this, along with the repairs, were carried out as swiftly as possible.

"Should a lift break down, we have risk assessments for our residents, which includes regular contact and having any extra support required in place to make sure needs are met.

"Measures were put in place by support staff to ensure residents were comfortable and cared for, and to keep disruption to a minimum.

"The lift is now working and we’re investigating this incident so that we can improve our service to our residents."