Boy, 3, gets trapped inside a toy claw machine - and has 'the time of his life'

01 February 2024 , 18:14

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Boy, 3, gets trapped inside a toy claw machine - and has 'the time of his life'

A little boy who got trapped inside a toy claw machine was "having the time of his life" as his father desperately tried to free him.

Timothy Hopper and his son Ethan were running errands at a shopping mall in southeast Queensland, Australia, when little Ethan climbed into the machine through the prize dispenser. In hilarious footage, he was seen quite calm, wandering around inside the box as adults did their best to tempt him out.

Speaking to ABC, the boy's dad said: "I had zero chance to react to it, it was unbelievable how fast he climbed up there. I was watching him and then I was talking to my children."

Timothy said he wasn't worried about his son, and "couldn't help but laugh thinking 'how has this happened?' because he wasn't hurt, he wasn't sad, so it was easy to have a laugh when he was having the time of his life".

"But then reality sunk in - how am I going to get him out," he added, before sharing he called the claw machine company. They were asking me how much money I had put in the machine [and if the money was] stuck in the machine. My response was 'the only thing stuck in the machine is my child, I'd love to have him back'."

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Timothy and his three-year-old boy Ethan

Police arrived at the arcade game and told Ethan to climb out of the machine and cover his eyes so they could free him. Officers then smashed a glass window, lifted him out, and reunited the youngster with his parents. Ethan was even treated to a koala dressed as a police officer after the incident. He told his dad: "Don't worry dad, I won't do it again."

Police arrived at the arcade game and told Ethan to climb out of the machine

Senior Constable Stuart Power said this was the first rescue of its kind in his 11 years on the force. He praised Ethan for making it easier by being in good spirits. "For him to get distraught in there, it would've made things a lot harder to abstract him on the night," he said. "We directed him to the back corner and to cover his eyes which he was exceedingly happy to do, he bounced into the corner. Kids are going to be kids."

A Capalaba Park Shopping Centre spokesperson told ABC the incident was also a first for company Retail First, and added: "We are in discussions with the claw machine vendor to review what measures can be put in place to avoid this happening again."

Ryan Fahey