Yahoo News Boy, three, gets stuck inside arcade claw machine after climbing in to grab a toy
A mischievous three-year-old won two prizes on the notoriously hard claw arcade game - by crawling inside to grab them instead.
Jamie Bracken-Murphy, from Nenagh, Tipperary, was trapped and on display in the machine for 10 minutes in his quest for a cuddly companion, according to dad Damien Murphy.
Footage shows the toddler seemingly both happy and perplexed while encased in glass and surrounded by soft toys at the Jump 'n' Gyms play centre in Nenagh, Ireland.
Mr Murphy, 35, said he was sitting with Jamie's five-year-old brother, Shane, before hearing "muffled complaints" behind him.
He said: "I turned around and just see Jamie's face looking out from behind the glass.
"I wasn't surprised at all really. He's a very mischievous, sharp kid who's always pushing boundaries.
"He was inside for about 10 minutes and was worried for maybe 10 seconds at the start but then he just found it hilarious."
As staff searched for keys to the machine an off-duty fireman helped extract the child, Mr Murphy said.
He added: "Luckily, a fireman was there and is used to dealing with situations like these. He told Jamie to crouch down and then he was able to shimmy out.
"He got to keep two dragon toys after picking them up inside. He's not embarrassed about it or anything, he just laughed about the whole thing."
Mr Murphy, a social media adviser, insisted the episode was genuine and not a stunt, adding there would always be doubters claiming the scene was a set-up.
It's not the first time a child has been trapped in a claw machine.
In 2014, 18-month-old Colin Lambert climbed into one in Maryville, Tennessee. Then, in 2015, Henry Howes, four, suffered the same fate at an arcade in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Jump 'n' Gyms, which is closed on Tuesdays according to its website, was not immediately available for comment.
