ELDERLY residents in a Bolton tower block are continually having to climb up to five flights of stairs after being marooned by a troublesome lift.

The pensioners, and their neighbours, living in Hargreaves House, on the outskirts of the town centre, claim their lift is out of action two or three times a day, forcing residents to climb up and down the staircase.

They believe that the ageing lift is now a potential danger.

One of the residents 64-year-old Sheila Walker, who lives on the second floor, said: "It is terrible. The lift is always breaking down.

"I had a heart attack in November and the lift being out doesn't help at all. I am often breathless going up the stairs."

The lift was installed when the block of 18 flats on Great Moor Street was built -- more than 40 years ago.

Residents are urging council chiefs to overhaul or replace the lift.

Mrs Walker said: "There is an elderly man who lives on the fourth floor who walks with sticks. One time the door only opened a few inches and slammed shut on his arm. One of these days someone is going to fall from top to bottom in the lift."

She added that residents are happy living in flats but many of them are elderly and getting access to their homes is becoming a problem.

Mrs Walker said: "You can go to the shops and come back an hour later and the lift has stopped working. It happens two or three times a day and the concierges get fed up reporting it. Most times we have to walk."

She claims that despite making several requests to the council for repairs nothing has been done and added: "The council don't want to spend the money but we are not asking a lot."

A spokesman for Bolton At Home, which manages the Council's housing, said: "The lifts at Hargreaves House are managed by a contractor and we have been disappointed by the level of support they have given.

"We will be looking for a new contractor. People need the lifts to be accessible at all times."