Police 'heavies' rescued after getting stuck in overloaded lift

Six police officers responding to a 999 call had to be rescued themselves when a tower block lift couldn't take their weight.

Fire crews were called to free them when they became trapped in Basildon town centre.

The officers from the neighbourhood support team were called to the Grade II listed tower following reports of a disturbance on Wednesday night.

But they had to make their own emergency call when they all piled into the lift rather than take the stairs. They were trapped for 20 minutes before help arrived.

A fire brigade source said: "All six of them decided to get into the same lift. Their combined weight caused it to get stuck. The crews had to use a lift key to get them out."

A police spokeswoman said: "Officers were called at 11.05pm following reports of a disturbance.

"Officers got stuck in a lift for a short time and were assisted by the fire brigade. It transpired that no crime had been committed."