Firefighters came to the rescue of a toddler who got a potty training toilet seat stuck around her neck in a supermarket last week, using cutting equipment to free her.
Grace Hollis was shopping in Aldi in Letchworth on Friday when her two-year-old daughter Mabel decided to put a toilet seat they had intended to buy on her head, pulling it down around her neck.
"She was sat in the trolley and had put it round her neck so quickly I didn't have time to stop her," Grace explained.
"Immediately she looked in panic, so I calmly said 'let's take it off' - hoping for the best."
But the seat wouldn't budge.
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Staff at the Avenue One Aldi store began to offer assistance, scouring the aisles for anything that might help shift the stuck seat.
"They tried moisturers, cooking oils and even pliers," Grace said.
"Aldi really does sell everything!
"I wanted to leave and drive home, thinking there would be something in our garage to help free her, but I couldn't get her into her car seat because of the stuck toilet seat."
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Someone in the store said they worked at a fire station and would call for assistance.
"I was told to wait outside, expecting someone from the fire service to turn up in a car," Grace said.
"When I saw a fire truck with its blue lights flashing, and I heard the siren, I was mortified. It was a whole team of firefighters!
"They had to use two types of cutters to free her."
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After that, Grace hurriedly left the store, eager to get home. "I still managed to update my car details for the car park," she laughed, "but I abandoned all my shopping and need to return to Aldi to pay for the destroyed toilet seat, but I don't think I can face it!"
Grace also still needs to buy a potty training toilet seat, but it's a job she's now intent on doing alone.
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