A MAN had to be rescued by firefighters after getting stuck in a swing at a children’s playground.

Crews from Rayleigh Weir station were called to Crouch Park, in Pooles Lane, Hullbridge, at about 9.50pm on Thursday.

They spent 50 minutes using specialist cutting equipment to free the man, who had become lodged in the swing.

Residents noticed the piece of play equipment was missing when they visited the park the following morning.

Rochford Council has vowed to replace it “as soon as possible”.

Chris Young, who lives at Crouch Caravan Park, said: “I saw all the lights, but I didn’t want to go over as there were loads of youngsters there and to be honest didn’t know what was going on.

“The man must have been on the little swing which toddlers put their legs through as one of them is missing. My first thought was that this guy is an idiot.”

Mandy Addington, 52, of The Walk, Hullbridge, added: “It’s unbelievable. I hope this man is going to pay for the cost of replacing or repairing the swing.”

Parish council chairman Deniz Borg said the park has been plagued by reports of antisocial behaviour.

He said: “I was not aware of the incident but it is an area where we have antisocial behaviour.

“We get loud noise, cars, people on the roof, stuff like that.

“A few weeks ago the toilets were vandalised.

“The park is in total darkness but it’s the responsibility of Rochford Council.”

Marcus Hotten, Rochford Council’s assistant director for environmental services, said the authority is unable to patrol the park round-the-clock.

He added: “It is difficult to stop this kind of behaviour, we cannot put 24 hour surveillance on the park, so we rely on individuals having a conscience. The vast majority of people who use our parks and open spaces do so respectfully and without any issues.

“We will replace the broken swing as soon as possible.”

A fire service spokesman said: “It was an adult male stuck in a swing. Crews used some of their specialist cutting equipment to release him by 10.42pm.”