Horsham shopping centre apologises after father and 11-month-old son get trapped in sweltering lift during Sussex heatwave

Aaron Fitz-Hugh, 36, told the County Times that he and his son Elijah were stuck in a lift in Swan Walk shopping centre at lunchtime on Wednesday, September 6.

The shopping centre has since apologised for the incident.

Aaron, a senior graphic designer from Dorking, said he was taking Elijah to Happyscamps soft play while his wife Jodie was at work.

He said: “The lift banged and suddenly stopped.”

Aaron said he tried pressing the buttons but nothing happened and he saw an ‘out of order’ message on the display in front of him. So he then pressed the emergency button and told security what had happened, letting them know he had a baby with him. Aaron said he was assured that security had called an engineer who would probably arrive in an hour.

However, realising that the lift was going to get hot, Aaron said he pressed the buzzer again after 15 minutes for an update. He said he was told an engineer was on the way but they did not know they exact time.

He said: “It was getting very hot by that point but luckily Elijah was still okay and he was in good spirits and laughing.” As the heat increased Aaron stripped his son to his nappy and let him crawl around so he could stay relatively cool.

After about 10 to 15 more minutes Aaron pressed the button again but said he was was just told the same information.

He said: “At that point I started to get a bit flustered so I told them I would wait another ten minutes and then I would call the fire brigade because it was getting desperate. I didn’t hear back at all after that so I called the fire brigade.”

Aaron said West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service were ‘great’ and arrived quickly to open the lift, which he and Elijah ad been in for about an hour at that point. He added that the fire service told him they should have been called immediately because Elijah was in the lift too.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service confirmed: “At around 2pm on 6 September we responded to a lift shut in at Swan Walk in Horsham. Joint Fire Control mobilised one fire engine from Horsham to the scene. Upon arrival firefighters released one male and a baby from the lift and made the scene safe.”

They said: “If you're a vulnerable person, or are with a vulnerable person, and get stuck in a lift, we would advise that you call 999 immediately to seek help.”

Laura Piper, spokesperson for Swan Walk, said: “We are very sorry that the gentleman and baby got stuck in the lift on Wednesday last week. The safety of our customers is our top priority at Swan Walk. While our team acted and responded quickly, and we have regular reviews of our safety and security processes, we will ensure we undertake a further appraisal where minors and vulnerable individuals are involved.”