Residents from Leamington House, near Winston Churchill Avenue, Somers Town, Portsmouth, were forced to climb to the top of the building when the lift broke down.

Anne House, 72, was hysterical with worry about her husband Jim House, aged 74, who suffers from heart problems.

'My husband has got a heart problem and he has just walked up all the floors.

'He went out this morning, thinking it would be working again when he got back. He could hardly breathe when he got to the top.

'I am fuming because if you need help you can't get it.

'My cleaner was meant to come this morning but she phoned me to say she couldn't get up here and now I have to wait another week for my cleaning to be done.'

There are two lifts in the building but one has been out of order for a number of weeks, and consistent use of the second lift caused a fault and forced it to break down.

Portsmouth City Council managed to fix one of the lifts yesterday but they are still waiting for a part to arrive for the other lift.