Firefighters were called to Basildon police station - to free a youth from handcuffs.
More used to freeing people from burning buildings than police cells, the Basildon crew was called out by sheepish officers after the cuffs jammed on an 18-year-old being questioned about a car theft.
Three firefighters used large bolt cutters to release the youth.
PC Cliff Pell, of Basildon police, said: "There was a mechanism failure in the handcuffs and we tried to use cutters but they did not work so we had to call the fire brigade. The handcuffs are supposed to be heavy duty, but sometimes the mechanism does fail."
However, the youth's liberty was short-lived. He was remanded in custody by police for further questioning.
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