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FIREFIGHTERS were called to a bizarre rescue mission at an NT shopping centre after a little boy climbed up the prize chute of a claw vending machine and got stuck inside with the toys.
The toddler is believed to be just 2 1/2 years old.
A six-man crew from the Palmerston Fire Station rushed to the nearby Oasis Shopping Village after receiving a call that a child was trapped in a toy vending machine at 3.25pm on Saturday.
Shoppers watched on - most of them trying to control their laughter - as the firies used the jaws of life and then a hacksaw to cut the padlock on the machine.
The firies then had to pry the glass door open - all while the boy's parents stood by trying to calm him down through the glass.
One onlooker told the Northern Territory News that everyone found it "extremely amusing".
"Everyone was standing around just watching,'' she said.
"But his parents looked more embarrassed than anything.''
Senior firefighter Brendon Magnoli said it was "definitely'' one of the most bizarre call-outs he had to attend in his seven years on the job.
"We certainly don't get these often,'' he said.
"When we got the call we actually just assumed he'd got an arm or head stuck, so we were a little shocked when we arrived to find him inside.''
Police and St John Ambulance also attended the incident but the boy did not need medical treatment.
His efforts to get a toy paid off, with one of the firies giving him one of the plush toy prizes once he was safely out and back in the arms of his parents.
A female shopper also came up and gave him a lollipop.
Mr Magnoli said while most people associate firies with fighting fires, most of their workload involved car crashes, rescues and responding to false alarms.
He also recalled another strange rescue mission about four years ago where they were called to get a bird out of a tree.
"It was someone's pet baby cockatoo,'' he said.
