A MAN who got his head stuck after putting it into a microwave full of cement as a prank had to be rescued by a fire crew.
The 22-year-old man was filming the stunt on Wednesday for video sharing site YouTube, where prank-based channels can boast tens of millions of subscribers.
However West Midlands Fire Service failed to see the funny side as five firefighters and a fire engine were tied up for an hour rescuing the would-be internet star.
“As funny as this sounds, this young man could quite easily have suffocated or have been seriously injured,” said Watch Commander Shaun Dakin, officer in charge of Fallings Park Community Fire Station.
The prankster and his friends mixed seven bags of Polyfilla before pouring it into a microwave.
With a tube in his mouth to help him breathe and a plastic bag over his head for protection, the prankster then inserted his head into the appliance.
Unfortunately the mixture set hard and he had difficulty breathing after the tube appeared to become blocked.
We're seriously unimpressed ?.
Five of our firefighters were tied up for an hour this afternoon, freeing a YouTube pranker whose head had been 'cemented' inside a microwave oven. Read more: https://t.co/6bZReGuKQX (Photos © West Midlands Fire Service) pic.twitter.com/2ch2UhszeH— West Midlands Fire (@WestMidsFire) December 7, 2017
His friends managed to break enough concrete away to allow him to breathe but after spending an hour trying to free him, they called an ambulance, whose crew requested assistance from the fire service.
“Taking the microwave apart was tricky, because a lot of it was welded,” said Watch Commander Dakin.
“We video-called our technical rescue colleagues for advice and eventually managed to get him unstuck.
“He was very relieved when we removed a large chunk of the Polyfilla with a screwdriver, allowing him to breathe more easily.
“But we had to be extremely careful with the screwdriver, working so closely to his head.”
He added: “All of the group involved were very apologetic, but this was clearly a call-out which might have prevented us from helping someone else in genuine, accidental need.”
The prankster has since uploaded the entire saga to YouTube, where it was viewed almost 500,000 times in one hour.
