A CINEMA visit for a Chilbolton couple and their friends resulted in them being stuck in a lift for four hours in Andover last week.

Instead of watching a screening of La Bohème as planned, James Thomas, his wife Barbara Ann and two friends spent Wednesday evening trapped in Odeon’s lift with four others.

The retired company director, Mr Thomas, said: “About 7pm we got in the lift, it started going up and then it shuddered and stopped.”

They then spent the next 20 minutes trying to raise the alarm by pressing the emergency button and, when there was no response, yelling for help.

The alarm button in the lift is supposed to notify maintenance engineers that there is a problem and they then notify the cinema.

However, the alarm failed and when there was still no response the party rang the emergency services from a mobile phone they had in the lift.

A fire crew and ambulance quickly arrived at the scene. It appears cinema staff were still unaware of the emergency.

Mr Thomas added: “The firemen went into the cinema and asked to see the manager but he didn’t know anything about it.

“The fireman in charge then called down the lift shaft to us and told us that the engineer was on his way.”

However, it took more than three hours for the engineer to arrive from Southend and it was just after 11pm by the time they were released.

Talking about their ordeal, the 81-year-old said: “It was very hot and airless and one or two of us were feeling distressed and unwell. One person suffers from claustrophobia and was having trouble keeping it together.

“When we were released everyone was waiting for us, and the ambulance provided medical attention to those who needed it.”

The Chilbolton resident added: “We were all pretty unhappy with the situation which had been badly handled by the cinema staff.

“It is clear that the Odeon’s management training and emergency procedures are very unsatisfactory.”

Odeon have confirmed that a similar incident happened just over a year ago but since then the lift hardware has been upgraded and the number of service visits increased.

An Odeon spokesman said: “The alarm had been tested by an engineer days before and was found to be working – however it appears to have malfunctioned which meant our team were unaware of the situation in the lift and a full investigation is underway.

“We have personally and sincerely apologised to each of the guests, inviting them back to Odeon Andover.

“We are also looking at additional measures to ensure a similar situation does not occur again.”