AUSTRALIA - A TODDLER who refused to let anything stand between him and a new toy was trapped inside a vending machine for 10 minutes.
Noah Jeffrey, 3, was so determined to grab himself a toy from the machine in a Zagame's restaurant that he climbed through the retrieval gate, up the chute and into the area loaded with plush toys.
The Ballarat toddler narrowly avoided a rescue by the fire brigade, but according to his mum, Louise, he had a ball once he had crawled inside.
"He's very adventurous and he thought it was funny," she said.
Showing his generous streak, Noah was quick to share the bounty of his exploration and passed the machine's toys to a crowd of children gathered outside before eating the lollies in the machine about 4.30pm on Sunday.
It was about then that Ms Jeffrey discovered the predicament her son was in.
"I ran over to check and he was passing toys out and eating some of the lollies," she said.
But with electrical wires and little oxygen inside Noah was soon sweating as management and his mum worked to free him.
And the escape proved rather more tricky than getting in for Noah.
The toddler had to be coaxed to climb back down the chute and sit there while his mum pulled him around a guard panel blocking his escape.
"We had to tell him that he had to come out to get a toy," she said.
In fact Noah had just popped free of the machine when staff returned to say they would have to call the fire brigade to rescue him after attempts to contact the machine operator had failed to come up with a solution.
But the experience didn't leave a bad impression on the tot.
"He wanted to go back in to get the lollies," Ms Jeffrey said.
That may be a little more difficult next time, though - the toy machine company said it would install a bar in the machine to stop children climbing in.
Noah Jeffrey, 3, was so determined to grab himself a toy from the machine in a Zagame's restaurant that he climbed through the retrieval gate, up the chute and into the area loaded with plush toys.
The Ballarat toddler narrowly avoided a rescue by the fire brigade, but according to his mum, Louise, he had a ball once he had crawled inside.
"He's very adventurous and he thought it was funny," she said.
Showing his generous streak, Noah was quick to share the bounty of his exploration and passed the machine's toys to a crowd of children gathered outside before eating the lollies in the machine about 4.30pm on Sunday.
It was about then that Ms Jeffrey discovered the predicament her son was in.
"I ran over to check and he was passing toys out and eating some of the lollies," she said.
But with electrical wires and little oxygen inside Noah was soon sweating as management and his mum worked to free him.
And the escape proved rather more tricky than getting in for Noah.
The toddler had to be coaxed to climb back down the chute and sit there while his mum pulled him around a guard panel blocking his escape.
"We had to tell him that he had to come out to get a toy," she said.
In fact Noah had just popped free of the machine when staff returned to say they would have to call the fire brigade to rescue him after attempts to contact the machine operator had failed to come up with a solution.
But the experience didn't leave a bad impression on the tot.
"He wanted to go back in to get the lollies," Ms Jeffrey said.
That may be a little more difficult next time, though - the toy machine company said it would install a bar in the machine to stop children climbing in.
heraldsun.com.au
