A DISABLED grandmother who suffers from a rare condition has been left frustrated after regularly finding the lifts at Odeon cinema are out of service.

Susan Bromley recently underwent a knee operation and also suffers from a rare illness, the symptoms of which are similar to multiple sclerosis, meaning walking up the 70 steps to the Odeon cinema in Andover is an impossibility.

The 66-year-old said she went to watch a film at Odeon on April 24, only to find both lifts were broken down, resulting in a wasted journey.

“This is a regular problem,” she explained, adding: “One of the lifts has been out of service since last September and was boarded up, so there was only one lift working and that went out of service too.”

Susan, who uses a mobility scooter or walker to get about, said since being diagnosed with her condition, she has realised the challenges faced by disabled people.

“It wasn’t something on my radar before but now I’m more aware of the problems that people are faced with,” she said.

The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-six got in touch with Odeon’s head office, and was told the company was aware of ongoing problems with the lifts and reassured her they have an evacuation chair if both lifts were to break down and people unable to use the stairs were inside the cinema.

But Susan, who lives in Charlton, said this makes her feel vulnerable, explaining: “I know how often they break and you always have that scare that you might be that one person in there. It’s very frustrating.”

Her next nearest cinema would be in Basingstoke – a 30 minute drive away.

Referring to the situation, a statement from Odeon said: “We worked with our suppliers urgently to fix this and can confirm, one of our lifts is now in working order.

“Improvement and repair work to any areas of our cinemas are of the utmost importance to us, and we always insist they are finished to the highest safety standards before being reopened to our guests.

“The team did everything possible to help any guests inconvenienced, and we apologise sincerely for any disruption during this process.”