Wheelchair-bound Russian man builds a solar-powered 'elevator' to winch himself into his third-floor apartment via the balcony
A wheelchair-bound man has demonstrated his ingenious solar-powered 'elevator' which lifts him up and down to his third-floor apartment.
Footage shows Alexander Yudin, 69, being lifted off the ground and carried up to his apartment balcony in southern Russia by a device he designed.
The video shows him arriving outside his apartment block in Timashevsk, in Krasnador region and waiting for the harness to lower down from his balcony. He is then seen attaching it to his wheelchair before it lifts him off the ground and up the outside of the apartment block.
He eventually reaches his balcony where he opens up a gate, straightens up his wheelchair and slides in.
An electrician by trade, Mr Yudin also installed solar panels to power the lift, so he wouldn’t get stuck in or out of his home if his town suffered an electricity outage.
Alexander Yudin built the 'elevator' on the side of his apartment block in Timashevsk, southern Russia
Mr Yudin, 69, securely straps himself into the contraption before it begins to lift him off the ground
Mr Yudin accesses his home at the top of the lift by opening a gate on his balcony and swinging his body and wheelchair to get inside
The video shows Mr Yudin being lifted up to his apartment on the third floor
An electrician by trade, Mr Yudin took months to build the contraption
Mr Yudin took months to build the contraption, which he came up with after becoming less and less mobile.
He had lost a leg in a car accident in the Nineties, but then three years ago he broke his other leg in a fall and was left unable to walk.
His apartment block didn't have disabled access for residents and the stairs are too narrow for his wheelchair.
Speaking to Reuters, he said: 'I was lying with a cast and thinking how to avoid immobilising myself, how to get myself out of this situation.
'Even when I get up, one more person is needed for me to get out of the house. Since everyone is at work, it was not an option. 
Mr Yudin said he made the elevator so that he could get out of his apartment without relying on someone else to help him
He said the device has given him independence and allowed him to work and socialise
Mr Yudin's elevator is powered by solar panels so a power outage in the area won't leave him stranded inside or outside his home
'I thought about it a lot and opted for some sort of elevator.
'I did not want to be just lying around at home and waiting for something to happen, for someone to bring me food, or being immobile, just sit at the balcony and look out.'
He added that his device has given him his life back, and that he has a job and socialises with others outside his home.
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