Firefighters got themselves in a bit of a lather when they were called to help rescue a 12-year-old boy who had become stuck in a gully at a North Tyneside swimming pool.
Faced with how best to extricate the youngster who had got his knee stuck in the gully by the side of the pool, the crew from Tynemouth Community Fire Station took a creative approach and cracked open a bottle of shampoo. Having calmed the lad down, the firefighters used the hair care product to lubricate the skin around his trapped knee before successfully freeing him.
The boy got trapped during a private swimming session at Tynemouth Pool on Preston Road North in North Shields, on Sunday evening. Watch manager Ian Laidler of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service – who was on duty at the time of the call out – told ChronicleLive it was one of the most unusual incidents he had attended in his firefighting career.
He said: “In all of my 15 years in the service I can honestly say I’ve never attended an incident quite like the one on Sunday evening at Tynemouth indoor pool. The crew did an excellent job of thinking quickly on their feet and to improvise an effective method of rescue, which in this case was good old fashioned shampoo.
“This wasn’t your run of the mill rescue taking in to consideration the location and the nature of the incident. The crew showed good innovation that resulted in the young lad being safely freed from the gully with no lasting injuries.”
The fire crew was called at 6.54pm on Sunday to a report of a child stuck in the gully at the side of the pool. The team– stationed around a quarter of a mile away also on Preston Road North - was on the scene within three minutes. Thanks to their quick thinking they had the situation dealt with and wrapped up by 7.04pm.
Posting about the potentially hair raising incident on Facebook, Tyne and Wear Fire and rescue Service said: “It shows the diversity of things we can get called to and we are just glad that the swimmer wasn’t injured. We hope that it reassures you that no matter what the problem, we can be there to keep you safe.”
