Callum Jones
A woman was forced to call 999 after trying to move her sofa alone as she 'didn't need a man' to help.
Sara Aziz, 30, decided to embrace her 'inner girl power' by deciding to single-handedly top shift her old sofa from her first-floor lounge down the stairs of her maisonette to be picked up for skip collection.
However, when Sara decided to embark on the mission on 22 August, it all ended rather unfortunately.
The PA donned her favourite pair of silver glitter Crocs while manoeuvring the large settee down the short flight of stairs to the front of the house.
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Due to the tight space, the sofa became wedged between the banister and wall so Sara decided to shimmy under it to wiggle free.
However, while she tried to move underneath the sofa, Sara slipped and fell backwards, with the three-seater settee landing on her chest, pinning her to the ground.
Using her phone that was tucked in her bra, Sara frantically texted and called family members for help.
But unfortunately, no one came to her aid after she waited for more than an hour, so a rather embarrassed Sara was forced to call 999 who dispatched an ambulance and a fire crew to her home.
Once the emergency services had arrived, fire crews were forced to use a saw to cut the ends off the settee and finally free her.
After being assessed by medics, Sara was told she didn't need to go to hospital.
Sara, from Colchester, Essex, said: "I got a new sofa so that's why I was getting rid of the old one.
"It was an L-shaped three-seater and I was moving it because it was sitting in my living room for a month and it's just been an eyesore.
"I thought 'You know what? I can do this, I'm an adult, I don't need no man, girl power' kind of thing."
She added: "I spent a good 20 minutes heaving it around. I managed to get it out of the living room door and I was about half-way down the stairs [when] it was wedged between the walls.
"I shimmied underneath it to try and angle it a little bit better and that's when I just went.
"One minute I was up and the next minute I was down. I fell on my back, which hurt, and because the sofa was too low down I couldn't get back up again.
"I rang my dad and my sister. My dad said 'yeah I'm on my way', an hour passed and I was like 'where the hell is he?' He was doing his daily shopping in Tesco."
The only option for Sara was to ring the emergency services, but despite the embarrassment, at least she was free, right?
An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "One crew from Colchester attended and reported that a woman had been carrying a sofa down the stairs when she slipped backwards and was pinned by the sofa.
"Crews worked to dismantle the sofa using small tools and rescued the woman by 4:26pm."
Meanwhile, Crew Manager Dennis Campion from Colchester Fire Station said: "The team worked quickly to dismantle the sofa and help the woman back on her feet.
"We're glad she was ok and we wish her a speedy recovery."