A MAN who was wedged in a wheelie bin had to be cut free by firefighters.

He was found jammed in the bin up to his chest, wearing just boxer shorts with his lower legs bent behind him on Thursday evening.

Firefighters used a small electric saw to free the man, thought to be in his early 20s.

Janet Gregory, 80, of Forest Close, Horsham, was watching TV when she saw a fire engine’s flashing lights through her window at 8.45pm.

When she realised the blue lights were approaching her driveway she got up to have a look.

She said: “I was watching Paul O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs and I thought: ‘Oh blast, I’m going to miss this’.”

When she got outside she saw the man struggling in her wheelie bin, which was on its side.

“I asked: ‘How on earth did you get in there?’ “He said some other people dumped him in it and then ran off.

“He was in up to his chest. He was quite a big lad.

“How on earth did they lift him up and squeeze him into my bin?”

Because he was barely clothed, his skin caused friction against the sides of the bin as he tried to get out.

Mrs Gregory saw “three fellows” sitting on a wall before the incident, who vanished before she got outside.

She said the fire service had to be careful when using their saw because of the man’s size and his tight fit in the bin.

She said: “Someone brought him a dressing gown to keep him warm. He was a bit groggy when they got him out.”

It is not clear who called the fire service or whether the man’s bin escapade was a prank or a malicious act.

Mrs Gregory, pictured with the bin, has asked her council for a replacement bin. “You couldn’t make this story up,” she said.

The incident has not been reported to Sussex Police.