Woman: Rules left her stuck in elevator

WEYMOUTH, England, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Company officials disputed a woman's claim she was stuck in a British supermarket elevator while waiting for a trained technician to arrive and press a button.

Janice Woodward, 55, of Dorset says she and her 2-year-old granddaughter were trapped in the elevator for well over an hour because store employees said they weren't authorized to push the button that would have freed them.

"I was in there for an hour and 15 minutes and I had visions of being in there forever," Woodward told The Sunday Star. "When the technician got there he just touched the control button and the lift moved."

Woodward said she rang for help but the workers at the Asda store in Weymouth said they were prohibited by safety regulations from pushing the button that would have released the stalled elevator car.

An Asda spokeswoman said the technician actually arrived within 20 minutes and needed another 30 minutes to work on the machinery before the button could be pushed.