Tight squeeze for ‘gymnast’ fireman

A TODDLER locked her mum out of their Chadderton home prompting an impressive rescue by an athletic firefighter on Friday night.

The woman had gone into the back garden of her home in Block Lane at 6pm to put some rubbish in the wheelie bin when the three-year-old shut the door and locked it trapping her and her three-month-old sister inside.

After realising there was no way she could get back in, the anxious woman called the fire brigade.

Firefighter Paul Nicholson, who has a background in gymnastic training, managed to squeeze himself through a tiny window to get inside the house and unlock the door.

Watch manager Reg Haye, from Chadderton Fire Station, said: “The mum was getting quite worried as the toddler suffers from asthma so she wanted to be reunited with her children as soon as possible.

“Luckily, Paul has trained as a gymnast so he was able to contort himself and get through the first-floor window.

“It was an impressive sight as he was balancing on a ladder while he got into position.”