Man, 62, says he is ‘stuck’ at the top of Spinnaker Tower

A GROUP of people are stuck at the top of the Spinnaker Tower, after an alarm brought the lift to a halt.
The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays PortsmouthThe Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth
The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth

The say an alarm sounded earlier this afternoon, putting the lift into ‘fire safe mode’.

Now the only way down from the top of the 170m tower is via the hundreds of stairs – which some stuck at the top feel they are physically unable to do.

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Keith Kerslake, 62 from Chichester, is one of those currently stuck at the top.

The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays PortsmouthThe Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth
The Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth

He said: ‘We have been stuck up here for about an hour.

‘An alarm was set off and we’ve been told that the lift we came up in is now not working.

‘We can’t get back down unless we take the 500-or-so steps down to the bottom – which I don’t think I could manage.

‘There are four of us up here at the moment; some people have gone down already and one was even carrying a child.'

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The Spinnaker Tower’s marketing manager Anne Burrill said: ‘It was a technical fault with the lift and an engineer is on site.

‘The stairwells are open and we do have an evac chair we can use if people need it.

‘There is a member of staff in the lift but they are trained an absolutely fine.

‘The lift should be back any moment now.’

Fortunately, Mr Kerslake has seen the lighter side of the situation.

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He said: ‘We only came in to have a look at the view from the top.

‘But the staff have been telling us what’s going on and have been absolutely fantastic.

‘Luckily we can admire the view and we’ll be able to watch the sunset – I just hope we don’t have to watch the sun rise too’ he joked.