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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Black pudding saves butcher trapped in freezer | Black pudding saves butcher trapped in freezer |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| A butcher who became trapped in a walk-in freezer escaped thanks to a frozen black pudding. | A butcher who became trapped in a walk-in freezer escaped thanks to a frozen black pudding. |
| Chris McCabe, 70, said he got trapped after the freezer door in his shop in Totnes, Devon, blew shut behind him. | Chris McCabe, 70, said he got trapped after the freezer door in his shop in Totnes, Devon, blew shut behind him. |
| Stranded in temperatures of -20C (-4F), with the door-release button frozen shut, he said he used the 1.5kg (3.3lbs) sausage as a battering ram on the release mechanism. | Stranded in temperatures of -20C (-4F), with the door-release button frozen shut, he said he used the 1.5kg (3.3lbs) sausage as a battering ram on the release mechanism. |
| Mr McCabe said: "No-one could hear me banging. Black pudding saved my life." | Mr McCabe said: "No-one could hear me banging. Black pudding saved my life." |
| More news from Devon and Cornwall | More news from Devon and Cornwall |
| 'Pointed and weighty' | 'Pointed and weighty' |
| Upon realising his predicament, Mr McCabe initially thought he "was OK because I could kick the safety button from inside", but "this time it was frozen solid". | Upon realising his predicament, Mr McCabe initially thought he "was OK because I could kick the safety button from inside", but "this time it was frozen solid". |
| Stuck in temperatures capable of killing a human in about an hour, the father-of-four searched frantically for an improvised tool to batter the button. | Stuck in temperatures capable of killing a human in about an hour, the father-of-four searched frantically for an improvised tool to batter the button. |
| With the beef too slippery and the lamb too big, he happened on the "best thing" - the black pudding, made by the Queen's butcher HM Sheridan of Ballater, Aberdeenshire, who Mr McCabe has been buying the pudding from for more than 20 years. | |
| He said: "It was the right shape. I used it like the police use battering rams to break door locks in. It was solid, pointed and I could get plenty of weight behind it. | He said: "It was the right shape. I used it like the police use battering rams to break door locks in. It was solid, pointed and I could get plenty of weight behind it. |
| "I'm lucky really. We sell about two or three each week and that was the last one in there." | "I'm lucky really. We sell about two or three each week and that was the last one in there." |