THURROCK Council has apologised for the inconvenience but has played down safety concerns expressed by residents from some of its tower blocks.

Residents at Bevan House at Blackshots in Grays have recently had to suffer a number of failures of the block's lift systems – and on at least two occasions firefighters have been called out to rescue trapped people in one of the shafts.

The council has confirmed there is a major problem with the larger of the two lifts and it may be some time until it can be repaired. And it acknowledges there have been a number of problems with the smaller lift.

The three tower blocks in Blackshots have all been condemned and are scheduled for demolition – but first the residents have to be 'decanted' to other properties – a process which is expected to take many months, if not years. Around 30 flats have now been vacated across the three towers.

Residents in Bevan, say they no longer trust the lifts and prefer to use the stairs – though that is problematic for mums with young children.

One says: "I am on the seventh floor and often we can't get in and out with pushchairs etc, We can be stuck here. The other day because I was indoors with my twins, I couldn't get out to pick my boy up from school because of the lifts."

Another described travelling in the lifts as scary, saying: "I've noticed it makes a weird noise and drops around eighth floor, it's so dodgy!"

Residents in the flats are also angry that they continue to have to suffer with signifiacnt problems of damp and mould - the long-running issues that ultimateley brought about the decision to pull the flats down, though it remains a matter of conjecture when that will happen: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/councillors-told-of-appalling-living-conditions-for-young-families-in-damned-tower-blocks-but-concern-remains-government-will-not-sanction-new-homes-once-tenants-have-been-moved-on-212128

Across the borough in Tilbury, safety fears have also been expressed about the non-operation of the concierge system that allows access and egress, and problems with doors that are locked, denying residents access.

Residents have described the risk as serious and asked how they are supposed to get in and out of the reception areas should there be any incident.

One mum who lives in Tasmania House has provided a video of the moment she couldn't get in and the response of a man when the door was finally opened. He tells her staff have reported the problem 'several times', but says residents should also contact the council.

She says: "It's just not good enough. We pay for this concierge service but quite often it's not there and then we can't get in and out of our buildings. I've even found myself trapped on one side of a door, with my children on the other.

"We are sick of being ignored and our safety put at risk."

Thurrock Council has issued the following statement: "One of the lifts in Bevan House is out of action because it was vandalised on 7 December and a specialist part is required, which is bespoke and needs to be manufactured.

"This has put additional stress on the other lift. Over the last week it has had three faults, two of which were repaired in around an hour and the other of which was repaired in less than two-and-a half hours.

"Prior to the lift being vandalised there had been no faults with either lift since late September.

"The council is aware of an intermittent issue in which a system fault locks doors to Tasmania House and repairs to resolve this are underway.

"Concierge officers are able to let residents in and out on the rare occasions the door is locked because of this fault, we apologise if any resident has been delayed because the concierge was momentarily away from their desk to attend to other matters.

"Fire exits are available in the event of an emergency."