ON reflection, it really wasnt worth trying to retrieve the cigarette lighter that fell down this hole in a busy street.

But this sozzled bloke couldnt resist and ended up stuck in the hole dug for a new lamppost.

The mid-20s man who didnt give his name spent the next TWO HOURS waiting to be rescued.

Passers-by failed to budge him, so he had to be pulled out by firefighters in Swansea.

To make matters worse, 100 giggling shoppers looked on, filming his embarra**ment on phone cameras.

One onlooker, builder Gareth Hughes, 29, said yesterday: He was wedged in so tight wed have pulled his arms out of their sockets if wed pulled any harder.

Stuck in ... the hole

Copyright: West Digital

He was stuck fast, right up to his chest.

We were all stood around this unfortunate man in the hole having a right old laugh.

The man said hed gone in feet first to retrieve a lighter hed dropped in the hole and got stuck. Hed had a few to drink. He was in a terrible state.

Even though it was mid-morning, Id say hed been drinking all through the night. He still had a can of lager in his hand.

God knows how he even managed to squeeze in the hole because it was only 30cm in diameter.

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

A fire service spokesman said: We used a winch to pull him out.

A lamp post was placed in the hole yesterday.