‘Prat’ nearly died cementing head in microwave oven
AN IDIOTIC Black Country YouTuber says he “nearly died” after cementing his head inside a microwave oven as an internet stunt.
After the fire brigade had to free him, Jay Swingler, 22, responded to outrage on social media by insisting he had been left “traumatised”.
Swingler, who runs YouTube channel TGFBro with Romell Henry, routinely shares clips of reckless stunts, dares and challenges with his three million subscribers.
Following the incident, firefighters said they would not charge him the £650 deployment cost – because his life had genuinely been in danger.
Simon Woodward, a station commander at West Midlands Fire Service, said: “What I’d like to do is remind people not to put their lives at risk for the sake of other people’s entertainment.” The stunt saw Mr Swingler fill a microwave oven with quick-drying Polyfilla cement. He then wrapped a plastic bag around his head, stuck a plastic tube in it to help him breathe and stuck his head in the microwave. Then he waited for the cement to harden.
Mr Woodward added: “If we’re attending incidents that are YouTube videos where we have people who’ve been irresponsible, those crews are unable to attend those life risk incidents.
“The service cost of that would be £650. We’re not going to charge, because his life was in danger.”
Footage of Swingler taking part in the stupid stunt attracted more than 850,000 views within 13 hours of being posted online. The video provoked a storm of criticism online, with one describing the internet prankster, referred to as Swingler in the video, as a “prat”, who should have been charged after tying up ambulance and then fire crews who had to extricate him. West Midlands Fire Service said friends of the 22-year-old had spent 90 minutes trying to free him by the time emergency services were called last week to the garage of a house in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton. Watch Commander Shaun Dakin said: “All of the group involved were very apologetic, but this was clearly a call-out which might have prevented us from helping someone else in genuine, accidental need.”