AN engineer had a lucky escape after getting locked inside a commercial freezer.

Firefighters say the victim could have frozen to death after getting stuck in the walk-in cold room at a family butchers.

Luckily, he had his mobile phone with him, and managed to raise the alarm.

The man was trapped after the door slammed behind him on Sunday morning.

Firefighters helped police break into FJ Martin and Sons, in Canterbury Road, Colchester, so they could rescue the engineer.

A fire and rescue spokesman said: “He was a bit shaken up by the thought of what could have happened had the circumstances been different.”

A small gap in the fridge door meant the butcher was in no danger of suffocating.

The brigade spokesman said: “Normally when these doors shut, you would eventually run out of air. There was no way he was going to suffocate, but he could have frozen to death.

“He was a little cold as well.

“One of the women police officers said, ‘You look frozen – do you want a cuddle?’”

He added: “I think he’ll be using a brick next time to keep the door open.”

Police said they received a 999 call from the man just before 10am. He was released by 10.11am. No-one at the shop was available for comment.