A drunken prankster was left feeling flushed when he was forced to call the fire brigade - after becoming trapped in a toilet seat.

The 26-year-old had been playing a game with his drinking mates to find items that could fit over their heads when the idea spectacularly backfired.

He had the brainwave of putting a loo seat over his head, but decided to see how far it would go over his body.

But the fun turned into a nightmare when it became lodged around his torso.

For two hours he tried to wriggle free from the plastic seat but couldn’t budge it.

And in desperation, he picked up the telephone to ask firefighters at Durham Fire Station for their help.

The man, from Tudhoe, County Durham, arrived at the station with his girlfriend and pal at 7pm on Thursday so the crew could use cutting equipment to release him.

The firefighters have kept the man’s identity private so they don’t embarrass him.

But crew manager Michael Burden said: “The man rang us first to see if we could help and he came with his girlfriend and a friend.

“He looked rather flushed when he arrived but relieved when we managed to get the toilet seat off him.

“He had been drinking and had been playing a game to see what items could fit over his head.

“He managed to do just that with the toilet seat, but it got stuck around his body.

“He was a bit worse for wear, but we used our cutting equipment to get it off.

After his release he was so pleased he gave one of our firemen a big kiss.

“He took the loo seat home with him as a memento.”