Three-Year-Old Girl Rescued After Being Locked in Automated Portable Toilet

A three-year-old girl was rescued after being trapped inside an automated portable toilet for over an hour on Monday.

Hannah Hoyne was with her nanny and two sisters, aged five and six, in Ward Park in Sydney’s Surry Hills when she became trapped in a toilet block just after 4pm as temperatures reached 32 degrees Celcius.

Her mother, Senta Hoyne, told Daily Mail Australia that the family’s nanny was standing outside with the other two girls while Hannah was using the toilet when the door closed and switched into its ‘out of service’ mode and locked.

Ms Hoyne said she immediately went to the park as the nanny frantically tried to open the door and called the toilet’s contractor JCDecaux for help.

“She was screaming quite loud for quite a long time before I arrived. It was a hot day and she was stuck in a stinky toilet,” she said.

Ms Hoyne said she became worried when she claimed that the provider’s technician had not arrived for more than an hour and the provider on the emergency line discouraged her from calling the police. “I was really disappointed that it wasn’t handled as an emergency. There is an emergency number on the door and the person who answers it should know how to act,” she said. Although she said she believed she was discouraged from calling police for fear they would damage the infrastructure.

Despite being told not to call police, Ms Hoyne decided to call the police because she was becoming more worried about the ventilation inside the toilet and her frantic daughter.

“Within a few minutes they [the police] had arrived and used their baton to crack a hole in the door Hannah was a bit happier when she could see and hear us better. She was covered in urine when she came out,” she said.

At around 5.25pm, nearly half an hour after police had saved Hannah, a contractor technician showed up. “I just wish that the person on the other end of the phone had told us the truth about how long a technician would be so we as her caregivers could make an informed choice,” Ms Hoyne said.

Daily Mail Australia has already contacted JCDecaux for comment.

Meanwhile, a City spokesman said the incident would be investigated. “In the event that an automatic door does not reopen, a manual handle is available,” he said, adding that all automated toilets undergo regular functionality tests and the City advises that children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult while using the toilets.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and Dailytelegraph.com.au