Teen trapped in chimney while playing Santa in Austria

He told police he had climbed the roof to "have a good view over the houses and play Father Christmas".
He told police he had climbed the roof to "have a good view over the houses and play Father Christmas". Photo credit: Getty

A teenager who wanted to play Santa has spent several hours trapped in a chimney in the middle of the night.

The 14-year-old climbed on top of an apartment block in Linz, Austria, but slipped into the chimney and became stuck halfway down.

The boy's 49-year-old neighbour, Behrami Muharrer, heard him crying for help early on Sunday morning (local time).

"I'd watched television a bit longer than usual and was just about to go to sleep, when I suddenly heard loud cries for help around 3:30am," he told the Österreich newspaper.

He climbed into the attic to investigate the sound, and discovered someone was stuck inside the chimney.

"It came from the chimney, I could not believe it at first. Who thinks of such a thing?" Mr Muharrer said.

Seventeen firefighters were called to rescue the boy. They attached a harness to him to prevent him falling further then broke open the brick chimney to free him.

He suffered some light hypothermia and abrasions but was otherwise unhurt.

He told police he had climbed the roof to "have a good view over the houses and play Father Christmas".

Newshub.