Firefighters embarked on an unusual rescue operation today after a man got stuck up a cherry picker. 

He had taken the machine up 15 metres before it malfunctioned and left him stranded. 

Fire crews from Grays were called to the scene in John William Close, Chafford Hundred, around 9.55am today. 

They used an aerial ladder platform to rescue the man, who had his feet firmly back on the ground within half-an-hour.

Essex Fire Service said on Twitter: "It's not just fires that we get called to, sometimes we're called to use our specialist equipment."