Residents at a sheltered housing complex have blamed a post-Grenfell “knee jerk reaction” for a ban on them leaving their mobility scooters on the landings.

Three residents at Roundway, Honley, depend on mobility scooters to get about and until recently were allowed to leave them on landings when they were not in use.

But a change of policy means that Barbara Kirby, 85, Susan Kenneday, 70, and Mary Gledhill, 88, now have to store their battery-powered scooters in cupboards – which is proving inconvenient for the residents who now have difficulty manoeuvring them about.

Barbara Kirby, 85, said: “After the fire at Grenfell, a very officious woman at Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) decreed that we could not have them out.

Residents of Roundway, Honley angry after Kirklees Council ban their mobility scooters from parking overnight in the corridors. Resident Barbara Kirby on her scooter.

“KNH are meant to be building sheds outside for the scooters, but although they laid the hard standing seven or eight weeks ago nothing has happened since.”

Barbara said the residents had been told that leaving the scooters on the landings posed a fire risk, but she claimed that was “nonsense” because the building was only two storeys and was fitted with a sprinkler system.

She said her scooter was now kept in a cupboard in her living room and the co-ordinator at the complex had to get the scooter out for her every morning and put it back again in the afternoon.

But Barbara said: “This has taken away much of my independence. I can only go out between 8am and 4pm Mondays to Fridays when the co-ordinator is about and I cannot go out at weekends because he doesn’t work then.

“Getting the scooter out takes a lot of manoeuvring because the corridors are not that wide. It takes 15 minutes to get it out onto the street. I use it every day to get to the village. Without it, I feel trapped.”

Residents of Roundway, Honley angry after Kirklees Council ban their mobility scooters from parking overnight in the corridors. Base for new sheds to house the mobility scooters, 20 meters from the flat entrance.

She said her scooter and the one belonging to Mary had been kept on the landing for about five years with no problem while Susan had parked hers on the landing for the past 10 years. “They were not in the way of anyone running past,” she said. “Nobody would trip over them.”

A spokesperson for KNH said: “We recognise that scooter storage is a priority for our residents and that there needs to be safe yet practical solutions to address this.

“For the safety of our residents in the event of a fire or evacuation, it is important that all escape routes are unobstructed and remain passable. Daily fire safety checks are undertaken and if a scooter (or any other item) is deemed an obstruction then on the grounds of safety, the owner will be asked to store it elsewhere.

“In addition, we have made it clear to residents that under no circumstances can scooters be charged in communal areas. Scooters are a particularly high fire risk, including the fumes they would create should they catch fire, and during the charging process the risk of ignition is increased.”

The spokesperson said: “We are committed to working with residents to address the issue of scooter storage. We are in the middle of a programme of works to provide dedicated storage at a number of our retirement living schemes, including Roundway.

“At Roundway specifically, we have already installed the base and bespoke stores are in the process of being manufactured. There has, unfortunately, been an unforeseen delay in the installation of these parts. However, we expect work to be completed by mid-July at the latest. We will keep residents fully informed of progress.

“We have not been contacted directly by Mrs Kirby regarding the storage of her scooter. As with all tenants, we are happy to discuss any concerns or issues and we have already contacted Mrs Kirby discuss the specific issues that she has raised here.”