Four people rescued from Wigan block of flats after lift failure

Pressing the alarm and trying to contact the engineers when the machine at the Wharfside apartments on Heritage Way got stuck between the ground and first floor, did not bring immediate help.

So eventually one of the occupants decided to ring 999 which brought two crews from Wigan fire station the short distance to the pierside flats.

Firefighters used specialist kit to open the doors and within minutes were able to help the lift’s occupants to safety. They had been trapped there for about 40 minutes all told.

None of the people had come to any harm.

Watch manager Gerry Davis said: “It was a routine job really and, thankfully, the occupants hadn’t been inside the lift for very long.

"It suffered some kind of mechanical failure.”

The apartments have in recent years been the scene of two balcony fires, one of which caused serious damage.