A dad "feared for his life" when he became stuck in a broken lift in a Travelodge for 40 minutes.
Vijay Bali was concerned the "cable would snap" and send him plummeting to the ground on Friday evening.
The 28-year-old was suspended between the 7th and 8th floor of the hotel in Erdington, Birmingham, as he waited for maintenance staff.
He told Birmingham Live the lift made strange noises and moved up and down slightly.
"I jumped in the lift and pressed number five. I felt the lift going up, then all of a sudden there's lights flashing and noises going," the sales advisor said.
Fury as headteacher tells lunch debt parents 'you wouldn't ask Asda to pay next week'
Inside tower block with faeces on stairs and where residents are offered drugs daily
"I tried to press the buzzer and tried to open the door but I could just see brick. Next thing I know the maintenance man says: 'You're stuck in the lift.'
"I was in between floors seven and eight. My phone battery was on ten per cent and the worst thing was I was starving as well.
"I just kept thinking what if the wire snaps and it comes crashing down or up, I just sat there on the floor thinking: 'I'm going to die'."
Travelodge says the father-to-two, who intended to meet his girlfriend in a room at the hotel, was "laughing and joking the whole way".
But Mr Bali disputes this.
Travelodge's latest sale has three million rooms for £35 and less a night
He added: "I was laughing and joking afterwards because there was a lot of customers around but I'm scared to jump in a lift ever again and I'm worried about passing that fear onto my kids."
"It was stuck making all those noises. I could feel the lift trying to pull itself up and down.
"On top of that I could hear people in the other working lift laughing and talking. It was like being trapped in a prison cell.
"The maintenance guy came, he said usually it takes three – four hours, so I was glad to see him. He got it open and there was a little gap by floor eight so I pulled myself out to the 8th floor."
The maintenance employee used a special key to pry open the lift doors on the floor above and helped free Mr Bali.
Travelodge since apologised to the guest and said it refunded him his whole stay and gave him a voucher.
A spokeswoman for the chain said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Bali for the isolated incident that took place at our hotel on Friday evening.
"The hotel team were in contact and supporting Mr Bali throughout the 40 minutes whilst the maintenance team opened the lift with a bespoke key.
"As a gesture of good for this inconvenience we offered Mr Bali and his partner complimentary refreshments in the hotel’s Bar Café, refunded his stay in full and also gave him a complimentary voucher for a future stay."
Source: Read Full Article