Shropshire firefighters rescued a four-year-old boy who was accidentally locked in his home after the front door shut.
Mum Sam Caffrey, dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown, was forced to called 999 when she found she couldn’t get back inside in the early evening drama in Highley, near Bridgnorth.
Bridgnorth firefighters arrived on the scene to find the worried mum talking to son Connor through the letterbox trying to encourage him to unlatch the front door.
But the frightened youngster was “double trapped” inside the living room as he was too small to open the latch to an internal door, which had also closed, said mum Sam.
She praised firefighters for their swift action after she was advised to call the emergency services by a neighbour following fruitless attempts to break into the rented property.
“Rather than cause any damage to the door, we found a small bathroom window open and managed to remove the frame to allow our smallest firefighter through,” said Crew Manager Chris Welding.
“It was a very tight space and she managed to get one leg in the window, did the splits and got through. I wouldn’t have got a shoulder in.
“The little boy was quite upset and we successfully reunited him with his mum and put the window back causing no damage.”
The landlord had also arrived on the scene ready to force open the front door.
Connor will be given a seat in a fire engine at Bridgnorth Fire Station after being too upset to take up the offer immediately after the rescue.
“We had tried to cheer him up on the day of the incident but he was really upset so we have invited mum and son to the fire station,” said Chris.
Mum Sam (41) said: “The firefighters were brilliant. I had gone to put the dog in the garden after a shower and Connor must have put the latch down and walked into the living room. He then shut that door but he is too small to open it.
“I had tried to get in through the bathroom window but it was too small.”
On call firefighter Alice Stanley, duty manager and lifeguard at Bridgnorth Leisure Centre, who is 5ft 6 ins tall said: “It was one of those little windows above the main window which doesn’t open very far and it was quite a contortionist effort to get through the gap.”
