For some, a broken down elevator is nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

But for this group of Wimbledon residents, it means they are trapped inside their own homes.

Tony Truss lives with his wife at an independent living facility in Rathbone House, in The Downs, but he says they are being left "completely in the dark" regarding their communal elevator.

"They haven't been working for a large part of the last three months," Mr Truss said.

"Every now and again they come and fix the lifts, but we are lucky if the repairs stay good for 24 hours."

At 70 years old, Mr Truss is on the younger side of people living in the three storey block, which is run by housing group Anchor.

He says the community relies on the elevator as many can't use the stairs.

"We are virtually marooned inside four walls," he said.

"One lady is 103 and people just aren't able to go outside.

"We pay rent so they should fulfill their duties.

"They should be able to deal with these issues quickly and they are certainly not doing that."

The worst of it came in September when the lift was out of action for three weeks.

"We complain, they get the parts and come and fix it and it seems to be ok," Mr Truss said.

"But it doesn't last. It is all just overwhelming and it is impacting on the life we lead."

Fiona Crispin-Jennings, District Manager, Rathbone House, said the lift is now in full working order, although judging by Mr Truss' experience, we will wait and see how long that lasts.

"As soon as the problem was reported a maintenance contractor was immediately informed and attended to resolve the issue," Ms Crispin-Jennings said.

"As parts were required it took longer than expected to fix.

"The on-site manager has spoken with residents throughout the process to support them whilst the lift was being repaired.

"We always do everything we can to ease the process for residents. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, the well-being of our residents is paramount.”