Pictured: 'I'm in a hole lot of trouble'... The man who had to be rescued after he got stuck in a hole in the pavement

After accidentally dropping a lighter into a hole in the pavement, this man quickly tried to retrieve it.

The young man, who onlookers said was drunk, managed to get himself stuck after going into the hole to rescue his lighter

Passers-by tried to get him out of the hole for more than two hours before the fire service arrived

But disaster struck when, having misjudged the width of the 18in hole, the man  -  who onlookers say had spent some time in a nearby pub  -  became wedged up to his armpits.

Crowds of up to 100 gathered midmorning in Swansea to watch as passers-by tried to pull the man  -  believed to be in his 20s  -  to safety.

The man was laughed at by shoppers after he got stuck in the 18in diameter hole before being freed by firemen in Swansea city centre

Onlookers filmed the rescue mission on their mobile phones

He was eventually plucked from the hole, which had been dug for a lamp post, by firemen after being laughed at by shoppers for more than two hours.

Gareth Hughes, a 29-year-old builder, watched the drama unfold on Thursday. He said: 'He was wedged in so tight we'd have pulled his arms out of their sockets if we'd pulled any harder.

'He was stuck fast, right up to his chest. We were all standing around this unfortunate man having a right old laugh.

Some liquid refreshment is provided during his ordeal

'The man said he'd gone in feet first to retrieve a lighter he'd dropped in the hole and got stuck.

'God knows how he even managed to squeeze in the hole because it was less than 40cm in diameter.

'Once the firemen arrived, they strapped a rope beneath his armpits and winched him out.'

Although an ambulance was put on stand-by, the man  -  who has not been identified    walked away from the scene without serious injury.

The hole had been dug for a lamp post, which was put safely in place after the rescue operation