Woman freed by firefighters after getting trapped in ironing board

A boy came to his mum’s rescue when a bizarre accident left her trapped in an ironing board. Michelle Thomas didn’t know what to do when her thumb got jammed in the board’s locking mechanism. The nurse, of Portland Walk, Macclesfield, was in danger of breaking her thumb as she struggled to work it free. But quick-thinking Alex, who is seven, passed her the telephone so she could call 999.

Michelle, 43, said: "I was hoovering and Alex called for me – I turned to talk to him and knocked the ironing board over. I went to grab it and caught it at a funny angle so my thumb got jammed up at one end." As the pain increased and Michelle’s thumb began to swell, she decided she needed to call for help. "My first thought was ‘What do I do now?’



"It took them a while to work out who was best to help. I was on the phone for 25 minutes before they said I needed the fire brigade, but they were brilliant. I felt so stupid. It felt like my thumb would break if I moved – it was crushing the bones." Alex ran outside to meet the fire engine and firefighters had Michelle free within minutes, using pliers to twist the metal away from her thumb.

Michelle said: "Alex did so well because he stayed really calm." Phil Marke, fire service watch manager at Macclesfield, said: "When we got there she was well and truly stuck. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Definitely the first person I’ve ever seen stuck in an ironing board in my 14 years as a fire-fighter. She was a bit red-faced. She was unlucky. You couldn’t do it if you tried."