Zachery's clean but now he's too scared to go again

Zachery with mum Jessie, and Maddi, 9 months. Photo / Supplied

Mum-of-two Jessie Wakelin plans to give public toilets a swerve after her toddler son became trapped inside one during a self-clean cycle.

Three-year-old Zachery was soaked with water and detergent before being blasted with hot air. He emerged traumatised and understandably reluctant to use any public loo again.

Wakelin feels the same. "I'll go home. At least I know it's not going to shut on me."

Zachery has enjoyed media attention since his Thursday ordeal, smiling when he saw himself on the news and gleefully telling visitors to their Bluff home he was in the newspaper.

But Zachery, who is autistic, was also bearing the emotional scars from his experience with the toilet he had labelled "naughty", Wakelin said.

Despite being toilet-trained for a year, he wet his pants at daycare on Friday because he was too scared to go to the toilet alone.

Listening to her son screaming from inside the toilet and fearing he was being scalded with hot water was a horrific experience, Wakelin said.

Zachery became trapped after he ran ahead of her and slipped into the toilet as another person was leaving. Onlookers, who included members of a motorcycle group, tried to bash down the door. They could see him pushing the unlock button through a gap at the top of the door, but the door remained locked.

She was not happy with the response from the Invercargill City Council, who told her they did not know how Zachery became trapped. "I still haven't got any answers," she said.