A BOY who was trapped in a cattle grid while out collecting conkers was rescued after calling for help on his mobile phone.

Andrew Day, 12, from Hoghton, slipped and got his foot stuck down the grid at Brindle Lodge farm, Hoghton Lane.

But he was able to call emergency services on his phone who talked to him for 25 minutes to keep him calm before firefighters with hydraulic equipment arrived to free him.

The operator, Pat Rowell from Darwen, kept Andrew calm by talking about her favourite football team, Blackburn Rovers. She said: "He sounded a very sensible boy and even thought to ask us to ring his mum so she wouldn't worry about him."

The fire crew used a hydraulic separator to free up space between the bars of the cattle grid to enable paramedics to manoeuvre the boy's leg out.

Sub Officer Tony Nickson said: "We were able to use the mobile phone to keep him calm and make sure he was safe while we got there.

"It was getting dark and the area is quite isolated, so it was important we kept talking to him to make sure he was okay." The boy was with a friend collecting conkers on Monday evening (September 27) when he walked over the grid at the entrance to the farm and his leg became trapped. His friend did not want to go for help as he did not want to leave his pal in the middle of the road in such a quiet area but Andrew was able to call 999 on his phone.

Sub Officer Nickson said: "The operator did a great job keeping him calm. We got there at about 7pm, the paramedics arrived not long afterwards.

"Between us, we decided on the best course of action and were able to free him quite quickly."

Paramedics treated Andrew's bruises before taking him home.