A broken lift at Upminster station left commuters to carry a disabled 90-year-old up the stairs.

Jo Ashworth, of Ullswater Road, Benfleet, and her wheelchair-bound father-in-law Alan had been celebrating his birthday in London when they returned to the station to find the lift out of action.

“We were offered no help to get him up the stairs so other passengers helped us to walk him up the stairs whilst the staff watched. I nearly fell down the stairs while trying to carry the wheelchair up,” she said.

“I am totally disgusted at the lack of human compassion of the staff.”

C2C, who staff the station, said they were “extremely sorry”.

A spokesman said: “We understand our member of staff was about to make arrangements and, in this very rare situation, we would have advised taking the London Underground service to the next station – Upminster Bridge.

“While this would unfortunately have added 10 to 15 minutes onto their journey, from there a tube service could have been directed into platform 4, where there was an operational lift.”

He added C2C would contact Mrs Ashworth directly to apologise.

Disabled people using the service are encouraged to contact C2C’s Disabled Assistance Helpline on 01702 357640 prior to travel for information and assistance.