Merseyside Fire Service tell TikTok teens to stop getting stuck in swings after rise in call outs
A number of teenagers have been rescued from playground baby swings after taking part in a viral TikTok trend, firefighters have said.
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) is urging young people taking part in the social media craze to "think twice" after 18 incidents in the last two months - including 14 in May.
The trend on Tiktok shows people - particularly older children and teenagers - forcing themselves into child and baby swings around the world and getting stuck.
Some of the incidents have seen crews able to release the youngsters without the need for tools, but others have led to the complete dismantling of the swings.
The service say these "completely avoidable" call outs could be diverting crews away from more serious, potentially life-threatening incidents.
Ben Ryder, Area Manager for Operational Response at MFRS, said: “We attend all kinds of different incidents with people needing our assistance from a whole host of situations.
"We are built to help – it’s in our nature – but these kind of incidents are completely avoidable, unnecessary and cause a huge expense to local authorities.
“Incidents like this tie up already stretched fire service resources, diverting crews away from more serious, potentially life-threatening incidents.
"Every single incident our crews attend takes time to deal with. Every minute counts when someone’s life is at risk - remember, we can’t be in two places at once.”
It is not the first time viral TikTok trends have made the headlines for their potentially dangerous results.
Doctors warned TikTokers of the dangers of 'dry scooping' - when gym goers swallow pre-workout powder dry and wash it down with water - which can cause heart problems.
The 'Milk Crate Challenge' also caused controversy during lockdown after participants started walking up stacks of empty milk crates with disastrous consequences.
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