The fire brigade had to be called when a school girl got her finger stuck in a garden table.

As Rihanna Fuller, seven, enjoyed the sunshine in a friend's garden she had quite the shock when her tiny digit became wedged in a metal hole and she couldn’t wiggle it out.

After failed attempts by mum Toni Dobson with washing up liquid, they cut off part of the table and rushed to the Minor Injuries Unit, where nurses tried in vain to remove Rihanna’s swollen finger from the metal, before calling the fire service.

Toni, of Goldfinch Close in Faversham, said: “We were at our friend’s house sitting around the table having a chat when Rihanna said she had got her finger stuck.

“She looked very shocked. We went to get some washing up liquid to try and slip her finger out but it wasn’t going anywhere so we found some metal cutters to cut a bit from the table.

“The staff at the Minor Injuries Unit were really good and we were seen within five minutes, before they called the fire brigade.

“It took them about an hour to get it off but Rihanna’s finger is luckily fine now.

“We would like to say a big thank you to the nurses who saw Rihanna straight away and the fire crew who were brilliant with her, holding her hand and talking to her as the others cut it off.”

Firefighter Dan Packham, Tony Barnes, Hannah Poole and Wayne Burney were on duty on Sunday afternoon when they had the call from the Minor Injuries Unit.

Dan said: “We were called to the Minor Injuries Unit at about 4pm. A seven-year-old girl had her finger stuck in part of a table and her parents had tried to cut her finger out of it.

“Part of the table was still attached when we arrived.

“We used a small axe, a ring cutter and lots of ice and chatted to Rihanna the whole time.

“It is not as unusual as you might think, but usually it’s people getting their finger stuck in rings, not tables.”

Davington Primary School pupil Rihanna added: “I was quite upset as I didn’t think it was going to come out and it hurt.

“Everyone was worried but I kept my arm in the air to keep the swelling down and my finger is all better now.”