A teenager had to turn to Ashford's firefighters for help this morning after he put a padlock through his ear without knowing the combination to open it.

The man, believed to be in his late teens, walked into Ashford's fire station at 1.30am with three friends seeking officers' help.

He had placed a padlock through his stretched earlobe, presumably as a prank.

However, he didn't know the combination to open it and was therefore forced to turn to the fire crews for assistance.

In the end, officers had to use a bolt cutters to remove the device.

"He had a hole in his ear like the young folk do..." - KFRS spokesman

A spokesman from the station said: "We had a young lad and three friends come into the station at about 1.30am. He had a hole in his ear like the young folk do.

"He had put a padlock through it, but unfortunately did not know the code. I'm not sure he thought it through.

"We tried to use ring cutters but we couldn't get it off, so had to use bolt cutters."

The fire officer, who has 13 years experience, said this was the first time she had been asked to do this before.

She added: "This was a new one for us.

"There is a lesson here - don't put a padlock through your ear if you don't know the combination.

"We were fairly bemused by the situation. His friends thought it was funny."