Firefighters had to rescue a man after he was trapped in a carwash in Oxfordshire at the weekend.
He is believed to have left his car to enter the start code at Shell-owned Frilford Heath petrol station on Sunday morning.
The equipment began working, trapping him between the carwash frame and the car. He was released by firefighters who cut away the car door.
The fire service said he was treated for minor injuries, and they blamed “user error rather than malfunction”.
An Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said firefighters had used specialist hydraulic cutting equipment to release the man’s trapped foot and relieve pressure on his chest.
He added the carwash had automatically stopped when it detected something was blocking the mechanism and the man was extremely lucky to avoid serious injury.
David Charman, chairman of the Car Wash Association, said he had never heard of an incident like this before.
He said: “You are supposed to stay in your car and there are lots of safety signs warning ‘stay in vehicle’.
“The car wash was obviously working correctly and the safety features operated when they encountered an obstruction. I am pleased no one was seriously hurt, but customers do need to follow the instructions.”
A spokesman at the service station said they were carrying out an investigation into the incident.
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