A MOTHER has issued heartfelt thanks to strangers who heaved her toddler's trapped hand from the jaws of a lift door.

Passersby helped to prise three-year-old Miyah Stratford's hand out of a lift in Abingdon's multi-storey car park after she accidentally wedged it into a tiny gap the doors retract into when opening.

Her mum Chloe Gibson, 22, said she feared Miyah's fingers could have been crushed on Monday morning if not for a mystery man who eased the weight of the door. 

Miss Gibson was with Miyah and her other daughter, one-year-old Allanah, when the lift doors pinged open on the ground floor of The Charter car park.

She said: "Miyah put both hands against the door as it slid open. Her hand got trapped but luckily a man was stood outside the lift waiting to get in. I have no idea who he was but he was amazing. He was pulling at the door to try to stop it completely crushing her hand.

"I was so panicked, Miyah was crying and very upset. He was reassuring and so kind."

Another person ran for help at Malthouse Surgery next door, returning with quick-thinking nurses who brought Vaseline to try to smother Miyah's hand free.

It failed to budge but two council workers who heard the commotion successfully levered the metal door using a screwdriver.

Abingdon resident Miss Gibson, a part-time bartender at The Narrows pub, did not know if they worked for Abingdon Town Council or Vale of White Horse District Council, which owns the car park.

She said: "She must have been stuck for about five or 10 minutes. The man disappeared really quickly afterwards. The nurses thought he might have injured himself trying to pull the door. I want to say thank you so much to them. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself."

Miss Gibson was concerned that no-one appeared to respond as she desperately jabbed the lift's emergency help button. 

She said: "It was sounding and the intercom kept saying 'connecting' but no-one was responding. If an elderly person had a fall on their own, no-one would have responded. It does make you worried."

She rushed Miyah for an X-ray afterwards and was relieved to find that her hand was just bruised and swollen. 

The ordeal prompted her to post on the 'Abingdon' Facebook page to publicly thank the strangers for their act of kindness.

A spokesperson for Vale of White Horse District Council said: "Following the incident yesterday our contractor carried out a further inspection at the Charter and confirmed the lift is safe and the alarm is working."

Do you know the stranger who came to Miyah’s rescue? Get in touch with Abingdon reporter Sophie Grubb 01865 425429, sophie.grubb@oxfordmail.co.uk