A teary toddler thanked firefighters with a smile, yesterday, after they freed her leg from a stair gate.

One appliance from Deal attended a private flat in the High Street at 5.45pm.

Watch manager Malcolm Cowie said: “The child had just put its leg through the stair gate and probably because of the heat it had swollen and got stuck.”

The crew bent the stair gate to release the two-year-old’s leg.

He added: “She was fine, she had a few tears but managed to give us a smile in the end.”