Zachary Van Der Hooren, from Colchester, Essex, sat on his favourite toy but as he slipped off he got his head wedged in the mechanism.

His mother Joanna, 32, dialled 999 when she could not pull him free and a team of firefighters rushed to the rescue.

She said: "I was tugging and tugging but I couldn't get his head out. I was more upset than he was - I was really panicking.

"When I dialled 999 I was screaming 'my baby has his head stuck'."

Paramedics and firefighters rushed to the home in Colchester, Essex, at 2.45pm on New Year's Eve and rescued the youngster.

Station officer Joe Hassel, of Colchester fire station, said: "We didn't need to use tools.

"I just pulled a bracket apart to release the tailgate of the tipper and the baby was free. The whole thing was over in minutes."

by:telegraph