A paramedic had to swap her medical skills for carpentry skills after an inquisitive toddler got his leg stuck in a chair.

Two-year-old Austin Jones was standing on the chair while helping his mum Louisa prepare dinner in the kitchen of their Bedminster home.

Mrs Jones, 28, turned her back for a couple of minutes and thinks her curious son must have tried to get on to the worktop to reach for something she had placed out of his way.

She said: "I didn't see what happened, but I think Austin put his knee up on the side and got stuck further up the chair. I think he then slipped down and got more stuck.

"He was wriggling, trying to get out and then I tried as well.

"I thought, 'don't panic' and tried using washing up liquid, and anything greasy I could find."

When her son was still trapped an hour later, Mrs Jones, a full-time mum to Austin and Annie, five, took the option of calling the ambulance service for help.

Mrs Jones said: "By that time my daughter was screaming and Austin was crying because he was in pain."

Trainee emergency care practitioner, Cath Mules arrived about four minutes later and tried some of the same techniques again to see if she could free the youngster, but realised sawing the chair was the only option.

She said: "Everything I did just made Austin more and more upset, so I knew the only solution was to cut him out. I asked mum how attached she was to the chair and if she minded if I cut it up?"

By that time Mrs Jones' mum had turned up to help out and held Austin while Cath sawed the chair.

As soon as he was free the toddler cuddled his mum and thanked the paramedic for not cutting his leg off.

His leg was a little red, but there was no damage, and he escaped without any bruises.