Paper's visitors trapped in lift
TWELVE people from The Restormel Luncheon Club, based at Lostwithiel, were trapped in a lift for more than an hour and a half during a tour of Western Morning News building at Plymouth on Wednesday.
The Club were on their annual outing and were part way through the tour when 12 of their group and a newspaper salesperson from Westcountry Publications, acting as a tour guide, got trapped in the lift at about 10.20am. An ambulance was called to the scene to treat people for dehydration.
The guide pressed the emergency bell as soon as the lift jammed, which sounded for 20 minutes before it was heard. Building Services personnel tried to release the doors and Health and Safety Officer and page controller for Westcountry Design and Print, Tony Pomeroy came down to speak to and reassure those trapped inside.
He said: 'We tried to bring the lift down to the second floor manually but by this time the people inside were getting anxious and asked us to call the fire brigade.'
The staff at the Western Morning News building managed to pass bottles of water through the gap in the doors as it was getting exceedingly hot inside. When the fire brigade were called they were on the scene in ten minutes and opened the doors almost immediately. A spokesperson for the fire brigade explained: 'Lifts jamming are a fairly regular occurrence and the team were able to release the group quickly.'
One of the party, Ben Kitto, said: 'It made our day! I thought it would only be a few minutes before they got us out but it turned out to be an hour and a half later before the fire brigade released us.'
The incident has led to the Western Morning News reviewing their safety procedures for the lifts which now include: having only ten people using the lift at any time; the fire brigade must be called immediately when a lift jams; a new alarm system is to be fitted so the alarm can be heard on all floors and emergency telephones being installed in all lifts to connect directly to security and reception.
The power
of the press!
A couple of weeks ago the Cornish Times published a front page appeal from Passmore Edwards Hospital in Liskeard asking the public to return such things as crutches and zimmer frames, lent out by the hospital but not returned.
Now Sister Angie Patten has written to thank our readers for their magnificent response. She says that as a result of the article the hospital now has a plentiful supply of crutches, zimmer frames and even a wheelchair, all returned safe and sound.