More than 20 emergency service personnel swung by a playground in Seymour earlier this month to cut a young girl free from equipment after she became stuck.
Twelve-year-old Shaeedyn was having fun at her local park on Melbourne Cup Day before she became stuck in an infant swing.
Shaeedyn stepped through the holes at the back of the swing chair but then could not get out – she was only able to stand on the ground while the swing forced onto her legs.
She called her dad, Richard Gray, on her mobile phone for help.
“She said ‘dad, I’m stuck in the swing’, and I’m sitting there thinking ‘oh rubbish’,” Mr Gray said.
“She said, ‘no, Dad, I’m really stuck in the swing’, and I said, ‘don’t be silly, just come home’.
“She hung up on me and sent me a photo of herself stuck in the swing.”
Shaeedyn’s mother ventured up to the park to help her daughter but could not pull her free.
Mr Gray called the police for assistance, who ‘had a bit of a laugh’ at the situation at hand.
The police organised Seymour State Emergency Services, SES, the Country Fire Authority, CFA, and Ambulance Victoria to come to the rescue.
Shaeedyn was stuck in the rubber chair for about 45 minutes before 20 emergency personnel set her free.
”They tried lifting her out, they tried everything – she was well and truly stuck,” Mr Gray said.
“They had to get cutters and cut the swing in half.”
The baby swing copped the brunt of the battering, while Shaeedyn escaped with a few bruises and was taken to hospital for monitoring.
“She’s okay, just embarrassed,” Mr Gray said.
Mr Gray thanked the emergency services for attending the incident and for caring for his daughter.
“They were all terrific – they treated her really well,” he said.
One SES member was sure to check in with Shaeedyn the following day, describing the situation as ‘one of those funny, but not funny moments’.
