Man saved by firefighters after getting finger stuck in kitchen scales

A hapless man who got his finger stuck in some kitchen scales needed the assistance of firefighters to free him. Ian Oldham, 32, from Clayton, Greater Manchester, said he was kindly trying to fix the scales for some children when his finger got caught. After trying for over 30 minutes to free himself, with help from his friends, they called the fire service to help.

But when the engine turned up at the house in Denton, Ian found himself with a captive audience as neighbours rushed out to watch. Ian was at his friend Anthony Kibble’s house when the drama unfolded. Anthony said: “The kids just came into the house with them. They were really old and the dial wasn’t working. He put his finger in to fix the dial and he couldn’t get it out.” The friends tried for over 30 minutes to free Ian’s finger - but to no avail.



Ian added: “It was funny until it started going really blue. I was concerned for my finger at one point. It’s fine now, there’s just a small cut on it.” In the end Anthony, 32, called 999. He added: “It was hilarious, by the time the firefighters got here everyone in the street had come out to watch. I had to crawl out to see them cutting him out of them it was that funny, I was crying with laughter. Out in the street everybody came out and they were all laughing their heads off, everyone had tears rolling down their faces.”

Greater Manchester Fire Service Watch Manager Stephen Gribbon said: “It was a bit unusual and we’re not sure how it came about - but although it might sound like it was trivial, the circulation to his finger was being affected and he was in some pain.” Trauma technician Greg McNally used pliers and bolt croppers to release his finger. WM Gribbon added: “It was a bit like a game of Kerplunk, as he had to pull out various mechanisms in a certain order, otherwise the spring mechanism would have pushed the weight down even more and caused him more pain.”