SIX fire engines were scrambled to a construction site after a hapless security guard got stuck fast in mud.
The unfortunate watchman was stuck up to his thighs during the night shift guarding a £41m school construction site in Edinburgh.
It is believed the man, thought to be in his 50s, raised the alarm on his mobile.
At first fearing the man was in danger of drowning, around 30 firefighters as well as an ambulance crew raced to the site of the new Portobello High School.
The victim, suffering from the effects of cold and rain, needed to be dug out with a shovel. It is unclear how the man came to be stuck.
The alarm was raised at about 9.45 last night and fire crews left the scene at 10.30.
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received a call from the construction site security control.
“There were reports of one male with his leg trapped in mud.
“Six appliances were sent because of the nature of the incident we thought it was a possible water rescue.”
The spokesman added: “The man who was stuck was dug out with a shovel. He was assessed by an ambulance at the scene and we left the scene and half past ten.”
Temperatures in the capital had been close to freezing and he was checked for hypothermia by ambulances at the scene.
Construction work for the £41m secondary school began in October 2014 after two years of wrangling with locals about building on top of the Portobello Park, which had protected status.
The 1400-pupil school is being built by UK construction company Balfour Beatty.
