Horror as toddler trapped in public toilet wash cycle

Three-year-old Zachery was trapped for ten minutes in a public toilet wash cycle. Photo / Thinkstock

A Bluff mother spent a frantic ten minutes trying to free her screaming toddler from a public toilet, after the autistic boy was trapped inside and drenched with detergent and water during a wash cycle.

Jessie Wakelin was walking with her children in Stirling Point, Bluff, when 3-year-old Zachery ran ahead into an Exeloo owned by Invercargill City Council.

Ms Wakelin watched horrified as the doors shut on her son without warning, and an electronic voice warned a self-clean cycle was about to begin.

A crowd of 20 people attempted to rescue the boy, even trying to break down the metal door, as Zachery pressed the door release button to no effect.

"Because he was screaming, I didn't know whether it was hot [water] ... It was horrible, really horrible," Ms Wakelin told Fairfax NZ.

He remained trapped for two wash cycles, and was soaked, cold and visibly shaken by the time the doors opened and he was released.

Ms Wakelin said Zachery has refused to go to the toilet by himself since the ordeal, despite being toilet-trained for over a year.

The bathroom is fitted with a motion sensor to ensure people are not inside when wash cycles begin, but council building assets manager Paul Horner admits the sensor may need to be recalibrated.

The council had not encountered any problems of this kind before, he said.

A contactor will look into the issue on Monday.