Firefigehters Free Toddler From Mop Bucket

Sixteen-month-old Minnie Snodgrass became wedged in the bucket her mother, Gemma, had been using to mop the floor.

The accident happened when Mrs Snodgrass, from Conisbrough near Doncaster, left the bucket unattended to go upstairs.

Minnie apparently took the opportunity to explore.

"She must have climbed in and sat down and got wedged," Mrs Snodgrass told the Sheffield Star.

"I went upstairs to put some sheets on the bed and then I heard her brother Matthew shout 'Mum, Minnie's stuck'.

"I picked up the bucket and was panicking when I couldn't get her out."

The anxious mum and her mother drove down to a nearby hospital where staff called the fire brigade.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue promptly came to Minnie's aid, with four firefighters using bolt cutters to set her free unharmed.

"If we weren't here to rescue toddlers from mop buckets, who would?" a fire brigade spokesman said.

"It's another example of the vast range of work the modern fire and rescue service is called to respond to and which the public rely on us for."