Family stuck in lift-jam drama

ROOM for a little one — a family day out turned into a rather haunting experience for Nigel Hester and his relatives.

The father-of-two and his partner Julie Swindlehurst were rescued by firefighters along with nine of their family after getting stuck in a lift.

The family had been to the Clayton Green in Chadderton for a meal to mark the death of Julie’s grandma Hilda on Saturday.

After the meal, the group went back to Summervale House in Werneth where Julie’s mum Sandra and auntie Janet Deane live.

They all piled into the lift ready to go up to the sixth-floor flat but when the doors shut it became apparent they were going nowhere.

Nigel said: “The lift juddered then stopped and we quickly realised we were trapped. We pressed on the alarm for ages and after about 15 minutes we heard the warden say the fire brigade had been called.

“We jokingly said that it was Hilda doing it on purpose so we had some more memories of her. We were all laughing at the situation but it got really hot really quickly and everyone was taking jumpers off.

“The walls were wet with condensation and it would have been dreadful if we were trapped for much longer. The fire brigade winched us to the first floor and we were out.

“There was a sign in the lift saying no more than eight people at once but we didn’t see that until it was too late.”