Sensitive body parts trapped in rings, heads stuck in cat flaps and hands wedged in vending machines are some of the strange incidents one Surbiton fireman has been called to.

The list came as the London Fire Brigade warned such 999 calls could divert rescue services from more serious situations.

Many of the preventable incidents involved children getting stuck in playground equipment or household items.

But one adult may have taken playing with the kids too far, after he needed the fire service to help extract him from a child’s toy car.

Two months ago the Surrey Comet reported an incident where firefighters were called in to rescue a man trapped in a fourth storey flat window.

Crews from Kingston and Surbiton were called to the embarrassing incident in Crescent Road, Kingston, when the man got his head caught trying to get into a small bathroom window.

In 2008 Kingston firefighters were called to the home of a red-faced man in Ham who had his genitals stuck in titanium chastity belt.

Crew Manager Brennan Healy said at the time: “He was very embarrassed about the situation. He was very apologetic and seemed to be wishing he was not there.

“He had spent all day trying to get it off and was at the end of his tether.”

Dave Brown, the fire service’s assistant commissioner for operations and mobilising, said: “You would not believe some of the incidents we are called to deal with – people manage to get themselves trapped in some very weird and wonderful places. “But there is a serious side to this– these incidents are time-consuming, costly and take up the precious time of our crews who are then unavailable to attend other, potentially life-threatening, emergencies.

“We ask the public to take greater care to avoid getting themselves into these often ridiculous situations and to think carefully before dialling 999 and calling us out if there is not an emergency.”