Stannah Stairlift 260?

What a brilliant site. I too have an issue with my 260.

I have been on holiday for 2 weeks and it seems the stairlift has lost power (the charging point is at the top of the stairs)

I tried winding it up alas the winder appears not to work either. When you power it on the power light blinks on very dimly for a split second which makes me think its the battery.

Can i pop them out and use 12v charger to power them back up?

any help greatly appreciated