Totnes butcher saved by frozen black pudding

• Video report by Wales & West of England Correspondent Rupert Evelyn

A butcher in Totnes has a black pudding for helping him to escape from a walk-in freezer.

Chris McCabe, 70, accidentally got stuck in his shop's freezer and the wind blew the door shut behind him as he went to retrieve some produce.

"I came out the back to collect some pasties to cook off in the oven," Mr McCabe told ITV News. "I went to the big walk-in freezer and it was a very windy day and the door was hit by the wind, I went inside and as I stepped inside I felt the door shut completely. And I was trapped inside. I tried kicking it. But it wouldn't go as it was frozen."

The release button was not functioning, forcing Mr McCabe to think on his feet as he tried to escape the -20C temperatures.

A failed attempted to kick the door down forced him to think outside of the box. His eureka moment arrived as he spotted a large black pudding.

"I had to think of some other way of breaking the door panel and I looked around, I found a rabbit and that was no good, I found some bones, they're no good and then I found this black pudding which I was able to use as it's solid. I was able to bash it on here a few times and open the door."

Mr McCabe could have died if he was trapped for a sustained period due to the extreme temperatures in the freezer, something he was well aware of.

"I was terrified because I know how cold this room is and I know you won't last very long in here. It's -20C. I thought I'm really up the creek now."

But luckily for Mr McCabe the frozen mixture of blood, fat, oats and spices came to the rescue.