ONE of the Pier Hill lifts went out of action again, leaving hot and bothered people queuing up the road.

As the blazing sunshine hit Southend seafront over the weekend one of the two Pier Hill lifts packed up, leaving the elderly and wheelchair-bound and those with young children and pushchairs to wait their turn in the stifling heat.

The lift is back up and running at the moment but it is the latest in a long saga of breakdowns for the lifts.

Philip Cannadine, 63, of Elderton Road, Westcliff, found himself stuck in a queue when he tried to use the lift on Sunday.

He said: “They had new lifts installed last year and I think one has only worked two months out of the last year.

“Southend Council just says it’s regrettable.

“I was there and you couldn’t move . I waited 20 minutes before I could get in the lift but I was letting people go before me.

“There were a lot of people with buggies so I let them go through first.”

Steve Wilmott, from Southend, said: “We visited the seafront on Sunday, and with three young children were dismayed to see the long queue for the one remaining lift when we headed back to the High Street.

“I feel for the disabled and people with buggies, as Pier Hill is a very steep route.”

Mr Wilmott added: “Obviously things break down from time to time, but repairing these lifts should be a priority if we want to be taken seriously as a seaside town.

“Then again, with the council refusing to recognise blue badges issued out of the area.

“Perhaps they don’t care about disabled visitors all that much.”

The council said the problems have stemmed from an intermittent electrical fault which is currently being investigated.

A spokesman for Southend Council said: “We experienced a technical issue with the East Lift last week which meant that it was not operational on Sunday and Monday.

“The engineers are due to visit today and the lift manufacturer on Thursday to rectify the issue.

“We apologise to residents and visitors for any inconvenience this caused for them.”

Visitors were left stranded in a heatwave in May last year as both lifts broke at the same time. They have since been replaced.

Ann Holland, councillor for culture, tourism and the economy, apologised to those unable to use the lift.

She said: “I’m ver sorry if people were unable to use the lift, particularly in this hot weather.

“It must have been a technical fault which I will be looking into.

“It is unfortunate that this has happened at such a busy time but these things happen and we had it running again as soon as possible.”