A power outage and water supply problems have caused ‘chaos’ for hundreds of people at a tower block in Bootle today
Robert McCracken has lived in Strand House since 2007(Image: LDRS)
A man suffering from a serious illness said he was so distressed by the impact of a power cut at his block of flats, he was afraid he would ‘keel over’. The Liverpool ECHO reported this morning (October 6) that hundreds of people in a Bootle high-rise had no electricity or water.
One resident told the ECHO the issue had caused huge inconvenience for residents, particularly mums with babies relying on bottle feeds. Carl Nichols is one of the residents at Strand House and said all 123 households were affected by the power cut and water supply issues.
Mr Nichols said earlier today: “The power is off in the whole building and parts of The Strand shopping centre. There’s no lifts on either, and there’s older people in here higher up.”
When the ECHO visited Strand House at lunchtime, a few residents were congregated in the foyer, including those who are physically unable to use the stairs.
Those residents were reliant on the power being restored and lifts reactivated to get back into their flats – two people we spoke to had been waiting more than three hours.
Asked whether anyone knew what caused the power cut, people in the foyer said they had not been told. SP Energy confirmed power was restored at 2pm and said it is currently investigating what happened.
Strand House in Bootle(Image: LDRS)
Regardless of the cause, the impact of the power cut and subsequent lift outage, has been distressing for several residents, many of them vulnerable. Contacted for a follow up comment, Mr Nichols said: “It’s been a day of chaos and a nightmare for everyone living here, especially those with health issues.”
Robert McCracken is one of those people and he suffers from primary progressive multiple sclerosis, which causes severe fatigue and balance problems. Robert has lived in Strand House since 2007, and his flat is on the fourth floor, meaning he would have to walk up eight flights of stairs to get back home, he said: “To me it might as well be Mount Everest.”
Robert said he went out this morning to do some shopping but when he returned to Strand House at 10am, there was no electricity and both lifts had stopped working.
He said: “I can’t get anywhere in this building without the lift so I’m just stranded with no information on how long it will take. It could be an hour, it could be two days, who knows.
“I’ve been sitting here feeling dizzy as hell, feeling like I’m about to keel over, and I want to speak about this because this is disgraceful.”
“All I can do is wait here for them to put the power back on and get the lifts going or wait here until I keel over.”
The ECHO understands One Vision Housing’s maintenance contractors visited the site earlier today and the lifts are back in use.
An update on the United Utilities website also confirms the water supply has been restored to Strand House.