A GUARDIAN investigation has found widespread reports of faulty lifts in Redbridge's council-run tower blocks in the wake of the tragic death of a grandmother on Woodford Green's Orchard Estate.

Tenants living in high rise complexes across the borough have told us they are fearing for their safety after the disaster, and claimed that their elevators also break down on a regular basis.

It comes after 50-year-old Christine Allen was killed on Sunday as she tried to get into a lift in Lambourne Court.

An investigation into what happened is still on-going, but witnesses have said Mrs Allen died because the doors in the elevator jammed open as it was moving.

Over in Clayhall, at the Owen Water House block, residents said a lift had malfunctioned only this morning.

Mum-of-two Penny Phillips, 39, who lives on the sixth floor, said: “I'm very frightened. They always break down, every few weeks, but I don't have a choice of using them because I have a buggy for my child.

“Last month my partner was going down in the lift and the doors opened before it had reached the bottom of the floor.

“It gave him a jolt and he nearly was thrown out of it. It's lucky he didn't break anything.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “Whenever the lifts break the council do come and fix them very quickly but it just keeps happening. I think it's because they're old.”

Over at the Buckthorne House high rise in Hainault, another mum-of-two, Silvia Turbard, 28, told us the lifts in her block suffer from faults at least once a month.

She said: “When I heard what happened in Woodford I was pretty scared. I've always been afraid of the lifts because they break down quite a lot, but I'm even more worried now.

“There are two lifts here and once they both broke down, which was very difficult for me as I live on the eighth floor and had to carry lots of shopping and my children up and down.

“I hope they will replace them with new ones.”

However Elaine Cash, 53, said her lift in the Larchwood House block only rarely broke down.

She said: “I've lived here for five years and I've only known the lifts to break down twice.

“We have a good caretaker here and I think we're quite lucky.”

Residents in other blocks on the Orchard Estate also say problems are a frequent occurrence.

One tenant in the Liston Way building told us a disabled man had been trapped in a lift for several hours two years ago because of a fault, while a Coopersale block resident also reported being stuck inside an elevator last week.

And on Tuesday ITN news broadcast footage of the doors to another lift on the estate jamming before they had fully opened - more than two days after Mrs Allen was killed.

Redbridge Council leader Cllr Keith Prince said earlier this week all lifts on the Orchard Estate would undergo a “precautionary service”.

Redbridge Homes are expected to comment on the claims shortly.