Fire service called twice for people stuck in loos

A council has apologised after two people became trapped in a seaside toilet block within 30 minutes of each other.

Teignmouth Town Council said the fire service was called after a member of the public became stuck in a cubicle at The Den public toilets on Saturday due to a "faulty door lock".

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said after freeing the man, it was called again less than 30 minutes later to reports of a second trapped person.

Teignmouth Town Council apologised for the "distress and inconvenience" caused and said: "We would like to reassure residents that the council has taken the matter seriously."

Teignmouth town clerk Iain Wedlake said the incident was among the "strangest" he had ever come across.

The council said a cleaner had initially attempted to free the first man before the fire service was called.

Wedlake said while the cleaner then "went to the storeroom" to get a key to lock the cubicle, someone else entered it and "they were then locked in".

"Nobody was hurt but obviously it could be distressing," Wedlake said.

The fire service said nobody was harmed in the incidents.

Teignmouth Town Council said the faulty lock had now been removed and taken away for "further examination" in a bid to "prevent a recurrence".

The council thanked the cleaning team and fire and rescue service for their help.

It also clarified the issues at The Den toilets were not connected to an earlier "technical fault" at The Point toilet.

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