The estate near Roseberry Avenue

AN investigation is under way after a social housing block lift ceiling collapsed on top of a tenant.

Riverside, formerly One Housing, has “sincerely apologised” in a letter to residents in Gray’s Inn Residences, Holborn.

It said: “A section of lift ceiling dropped down whilst it was in use and a customer sustained injuries.

“We are treating this matter with urgency and with a full investigation into what happened and how the incident occurred.”

Tenants said the collapse was the ­latest in a series of problems with the estate’s lifts – with one recently being out of action for seven months.

Penny Bennett, secretary of the Gray’s Inn Tenants’ Association, said: “Things have got worse since the switch from One Housing to Riverside. You ring up. No one is there. Who is doing what, no one knows?”

Ms Bennett said that lifts in the estate were routinely breaking down with delays in sourcing spare parts from abroad given as an excuse.

Tenants of council and social housing estates are often told that missing parts are a reason for long delays in fixing broken lifts.

A report from Camden Council earlier this year suggested that Brexit had increased the delays in sourcing spare parts.

Ms Bennett said: “We have got five floors and people had to use the stairs and the last time the lift broke down it was out for seven months.

“For some of that period they paid for a man to sit on a chair in the basement 24 hours a day and night.

“We weren’t told he was going to be there and finally someone asked them what they were doing? It was a terrible waste of money and at same time a way of shutting us up.”

She added: “They told us it was about getting spare parts from abroad. I said put me on a plane I’ll go over and get it. It would cost less.”

The Gray’s Inn Building housing estate – which fronts onto Clerkenwell Road and Roseberry Avenue on the Camden and Islington border – was completely refurbished around 20 years ago.

In a letter to residents, Riverside said it was doing “everything that we can to keep everyone safe”, adding: “On 11 March, a section of the lift ceiling dropped down whilst in use and a customer sustained injuries.

“We are in contact with the customer. We are treating this matter with urgency and with a full investigation into what happened and how this incident occurred.

“Your safety remains our top priority. We sincerely apologise for this occurrence and want to reassure you that we will continue to prioritise this investigation and ensure that we are transparent in our findings.

“We will share them with you, along with the measures we’re taking to ensure this does not happen again.”

The lift is back in service.