FIREFIGHTERS have come to the rescue of a young man who woke up with a steel bike lock round his neck after falling victim to pranksters.

The man, in his 20s, spent three hours trying to free himself after his friends lost the key. In the end his mother marched him to Coventry Fire Station, where regular cutting gear was unable to penetrate the lock. Firefighters had to summon a stronger piece of equipment from 12 miles away to do the trick.