Elderly tenants living in a block of flats claim they have been cut off from vital care services after their intercom system broke.

People living in the Whitefields Estate, in Claremont Road, Cricklewood, say they have felt “trapped” ever since the buzzer stopped working in May.

They claim to have raised the issue with Barnet Homes, which manages the building, but the problem is yet to be fixed.

Lynn Musik, whose 80-year-old mother-in-law, Belinda Bardon, lives on the estate, said: “She’s really stressed out about the whole thing. It’s making her very ill and we’re worried for her health.

“She struggles with stairs, so it means people can’t visit her. As a result, her carers have been forced to leave and she’s missed ambulances to take her to hospital appointments.

“It’s a total nightmare.”

Mrs Bardon has been in and out of hospital since May to have her gallbladder removed, and also has a lung disorder and high blood pressure.

According to Mrs Musik the caretaker told them the system would be fixed in May.

She added: “My mother-in-law feels completely on her own at the moment and very trapped. There is nobody there to help her.

“It’s totally unfair to leave her and all her elderly neighbours living this way. It needs to be sorted.”

A statement from Barnet Homes said it was aware of the problems with the intercom system and apologised.

It added: “We have a specialist engineer working on the intercom system at the moment and have spoken to the individual residents affected.

“We have agreed with the affected residents an interim solution so they are not inconvenienced while we look at overhauling the intercom system for the long-term."