A disabled woman has been confined to the first floor of her home for six months because a lift installed in her home is the wrong size.
Stroke survivor Michelle Phillips relies on a wheelchair, but has been able to live independently for many years by having a lift.
But problems arose in March, when Stockport council installed a new model in her privately owned Davenport home in March, after the previous lift malfunctioned.
When Michelle, 47, who cannot bend her knee and has had her leg in a 'cricket pad' splint for several years, tried the lift, she discovered it wasn't deep enough to safely accommodate her wheelchair.
With her leg needing to be kept horizontal, the lift is around 15cms too short in depth for Michelle to be able to close the door.
The lift, which was funded by a Disabled Facilities Grant, was locked shut when it became clear it wasn't safe to be used, and has never been commissioned.
It means that Michelle, who also has epilepsy and the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, has not been able to leave the first floor of her home for the past six months.
Instead she is reliant on her dad Stuart, carers and friends to bring her food and keep her connected to the outside world, and says the isolation caused by being stuck inside is taking a serious toll on her mental health.
She has also had to miss several hospital appointments because she can't leave the house, and is becoming increasingly concerned about her physical health.
Michelle said: "This one is too short for me and the wheelchair to go in. We've gone in and the door doesn't shut.
"It was meant to be only two weeks while the lift was installed, but it's been six months. I should have been out of this room, having a life.
"I've had a lift in the house for 11 years, it's meant I've been as independent as I can be.
"It is frustrating, but we are trying our best to keep going, but it is getting harder and we are getting no support."
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A previous lift installed in Michelle's home worked well, but became unsuitable when she had to change to a new wheelchair when the previous model kept tipping over.
Last October, she had another lift installed, but it had to be removed after it kept dangerously malfunctioning while she was using it.
Michelle says some of the alternative solutions she has been offered while she waits for the problems with latest lift to be rectified are totally unsuitable.
She added: "Their thoughts are to completely re position it from where it is now, or change my wheelchair.
"I was told it would take five and a half months to build a new lift.
"For me to live on the ground floor would be impossible, because I'd need a wet room and there's only two rooms downstairs.
"One suggestion was for me to move to a nursing home, but this community is my home, my dad and my friends are here.
"It's affecting my physical and mental health.
"I want others to know about this now. I'm not doing it just for me, there are others who have got equipment who will be fighting different things.
"I missed spring, I missed summer and now I'm missing autumn too. I just want my life back".
A Stockport Council spokesperson said: “We’re working on numerous ways to resolve the situation as the current lift is not fit for purpose due to a number of complex issues.
"In the meantime, the owner has been offered several alternatives to enable her to access the community while we look to find a permanent solution.”
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