Monday, May 05, 2008

Geri Halliwell trapped in elevator for 1 hr


Former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell found herself in a tight spot on Monday after she became stuck in a lift en-route to a book signing. Ginger Spice as she used to be known had arrived about twenty minutes prior to the advertised signing in Lakeside shopping centre but as she made her way to W.H.Smith bookshop the service elevator became stuck between floors. Around a dozen photographers and hundreds of fans were left waiting for the singer who was promoting a children’s book Ugenia Lavender. But as the minutes ticked by there was no information given as to why the star was running late. Meanwhile staff were bustling around making ready for her visit. A cushion was quickly sought from Marks and Spencer after her manager suggested the seat was too hard. After thirty minutes there was obvious boredom setting in but still no explanation as to why Geri still had not arrived. One member of staff then started to hand out sweets to people in the queue as security and other officials rushed back and forth in and out of doors.
Unbeknown to all the fans and photographers present Geri had become trapped with four others in a service elevator. Firefighters appeared on the scene and disappeared into a corridor. Out of site they released the former Spice girl Geri Halliwell. Sub Officer Dan Hyatt of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said, "We were called to help get some people out of a lift in Lakeside and when we got there we were all surprised to discover that one of the people trapped was Geri Halliwell. The lift had become stuck between floors and a team of engineers was working on it but didn't seem to be having any luck. So we used a manual crank in the lift's service room to raise it and get the doors open.” The firefighters had been called out at 15:17 some twenty minutes after the lift had become stuck. But it was not until 15:56 that she and the four others in the lift with her were released. "Geri thanked us all for our help and was a really nice lady. There were loads of fans waiting for her so we were glad that we were able to get her out quickly so she could go and meet them." Besides the stress of being trapped in a confined space for an hour Geri put on a brave face as she eventually greeted fans at a minute to four. She received a rapturous applause and cheers from fans who had waited patiently throughout her ordeal.

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