Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service had to perform nine lift rescues last year despite lockdown measures.

And figures have shown that over the last decade, crews in the area attended 146 ‘lift release’ incidents in the county, accounting for 2% of all non-fire related calls attended by Northumberland firefighters in that time.

Nationally, there were more than 120,000 lift rescues carried out across the UK in the same amount of time, with 8,500 callouts to free those trapped in the last year.

Numbers have dropped since 2019, something which a spokesperson from the National Fire Chiefs Council attributed to more people staying at home due to Covid-19.

The spokesperson said: “It may be reflective of the longer-term work of fire and rescue services in actively requesting building owners ensure lifts are maintained to reduce the instances of lift call outs.

Another spokesperson, this time for the Fire Brigades Union said: “The fire service is a vital public service and no matter what the incident or cause, firefighters will always be there to respond.

“Although people stuck in a lift may not be at immediate risk, it is through no fault of their own and they should not be left stranded for long periods of time.”