Firefighters have released a video and issued a warning about the dangers of a TikTok trend in which teens force themselves into toddlers' swings and get stuck.
London Fire Brigade has attended 21 instances of people getting stuck in swings so far this year and they have linked it to a craze on the popular social media app.
You can watch the warning the London Fire Brigade shared on their social media channels below:
On Saturday 1st May, firefighters in Ruislip, west London, were called to a park to help a 14-year-old girl who was stuck in a swing.
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The firefighters had to dismantle the swing and then use pressure to expand it around the area where the girl was stuck to rescue her. Luckily the teen was uninjured and the crew were able to reassemble the swing after the rescue.
Firefighters from Ruislip Fire Station's Green Watch who attended the job said they were conscious they were being filmed by the girl's friends but they hadn't previously been aware of the TikTok challenge.
Of the 21 incidents recorded this year, 12 took place in the last month, including one at a play area in Sutton. Crews were called to help a person out of a swing in a park which was filmed by group of teens.
Crews will sometimes be able to get the person out without using cutting equipment, but they sometimes do have to, resulting in a damaged swing which then has to be replaced.
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The trend is said to have began last year but firefighters have noticed it becoming more popular across the UK in recent weeks and a number of other fire and rescue services have spoken out about the number of calls they are attending. They are now urging teenagers to think twice before getting stuck and wasting firefighters' time.
The Brigade's Assistant Commissioner for Fire Stations, Jane Philpott, said: "Our firefighters attend a wide variety of challenging incidents and far be it from us to judge the precarious positions some people find themselves in.
"But in their quest for TikTok fame, people have been potentially diverting our crews from more serious incidents and that isn't something we want to see.
"Each job our firefighters do attend takes time and we are hoping to prevent further call outs to such incidents by issuing this warning.
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Last year firefighters assisted 52 people stuck in swings and in 2019 there were 32 such incidents. The majority of those in previous years and this year took place during the early evening.
Philpott continued: "We would ask people to please just think twice before taking part in this challenge - think of the injuries you could cause yourself, the damage to the swings which have to be cut apart and most of all the fact you're tying up resources which could be needed for a genuine emergency.
"It might be a fun story for your friends, but wasting the time of emergency services is serious."
Featured Image Credit: London Fire BrigadeTopics: Life News, News, Life, TikTok