Person locked inside

Someone being locked inside is one of the most distressing emergencies. It happens more often than you might think: a child who slides the bathroom bolt, an elderly person who cannot find the key, someone stuck inside with a jammed lock.

First: is anyone at risk?

Call 112 before anyone else if any of these apply:

• A baby or young child alone inside.
• An elderly or unwell person who is not responding or may need help.
• Something on the hob, a smell of gas, smoke or a tap flooding the home.
• A pet shut in somewhere very hot.

The emergency services have the means to act straight away. Once you have called them, let us know too if you wish.

What to do now if there is no risk

• Talk to the person through the door and reassure them.
• Ask whether the key is in the lock on the inside and, if so, ask them to take it out or turn it upright.
• If it is a child with the bathroom bolt, calmly ask them to turn it the other way.
• Look for a copy of the key if there is one.

What not to do

• Do not try to kick the door in: you could hurt whoever is on the other side.
• Do not climb up the front of the building or balconies to get in through a window.
• Do not put tools in the lock if the person has the key in on the inside: you may jam it further.

How we sort it out

We work 24 hours a day, every day, in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja. Tell us who is inside, which door it is and whether there is a key in the lock. We give you a fixed quote and come out.

We check that you have the right to enter (we explain how you show this when you get in touch) and open the door with the quickest method that does not put the person inside at risk. Bathroom and bedroom locks can almost always be opened without damage.

You will find all the information under door opening. If it is an interior door and its lock often fails, you may be interested in interior door locks.

So it does not happen again

• In homes with young children, it is worth fitting a bathroom lock that can be opened from outside.
• If an elderly person lives with you, leave a copy of the key with a trusted neighbour or relative.
• Do not leave the key in the lock on the inside if someone else may need to get in.

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