AN ELDERLY woman was given a police lift - after the elevator to her 14th floor flat stopped working.

Officers were called out early yesterday morning after a 92-year-old woman had been stuck on the ground floor of her block of flats for nearly 12 hours in High Street East in Sunderland city centre.

A police spokesman said: "The woman had been stuck since 3pm on Tuesday when we got a call at 1.10am this morning. Both lifts in her building had broken.

"After ten hours of waiting and unsure of what else to do, her son rang police to see if we could help.

"Two police officers went along and carried the woman up 14 flights of stairs to her flat. Once there, they made sure she was safe and well."

Inspector Peter Dent, of Sunderland Area Command, said: "Strictly speaking this doesn't fall under the normal duties of a police officer.

"But the officers who attended didn't want to leave the elderly woman stranded for any longer and we're pleased that we were able to help her back to the comfort of her own home.

"The concern and care the officers showed is just one of the many examples of the lengths police officers go to help the communities they serve."