Pensioners stuck in council flats for 10 days after the lift broke down have spoken of their fear as they battle to use the stairs.

The lift at Atkins Court, in Wood Farm, Oxford, has been out of service since Sunday, August 14.

And the elderly residents in the sheltered accommodation are struggling to make it down the stairs.

One 95-year-old woman even had to be lifted down in a chair to get to a hospital appointment and others say they fear for their safety as they try to negotiate the steps.

The complex is run by Oxford City Council, which says the lift should be working again by tonight.

Ann Leonard, 70, who suffers from three crushed vertebrae and walks with a frame, lives on the top floor.

She said: “I don’t want to complain, I’m not a moaning minnie. But it is an awful job to get down the stairs.”

Since the lift stopped working the retired care worker said she has only been out to collect her pension and to celebrate her 70th birthday.

“Two people had to help me down the stairs to celebrate my 70th birthday,” she said.

“It’s so hard – by the time that you’re at the top if you were that way inclined you’d be in tears. It takes me about 10 minutes holding onto the rails with both hands.”

Anne Gomm, 75, has lived in her ground floor flat for seven years.

The retired car factory worker said: “There’s one man who can hardly walk, he slides along the wall. It terrifies me to watch him.

“I can’t get up the stairs to see people because of my knees and hips, I always use the lift.”

There are 26 flats in the block, which is home to about 28 pensioners, with the oldest resident aged 100.

“It is a problem – there’s a woman who is in her 90s on the top floor,” Mrs Gomm said.

“They had to get a special chairfor her because the lift wasn’t working. It was for a hospital appointment, but what would they do in an emergency?”

City council spokesman Louisa Dean apologised for the time it was taking to repair the lift.

She added: “Our contractor is working hard to resolve this issue. However, this was a significant mechanical failure which means the repair work has taken longer than normal to carry out.”