Last updated at 23:47 22 October 2007

To Charlie Thomas, it must have seemed like a wizard idea.

Spotting a discarded traffic cone, the imaginative three-year-old immediately saw its potential as an impromptu Harry Potter outfit.

But after placing it carefully on his head to show his family, the magic soon disappeared.

The plastic cone became firmly stuck and despite the best efforts of the toddler's parents, it refused to budge.

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Perhaps a Potter-style cry of 'Expelliarmus!' might have helped.

But in the end they had to call the fire brigade - and it took a crew of six half an hour to release Charlie using cutting tools and pliers.

Yesterday, his mother said Charlie was left with a slight bruising to his head - and pride - after his attempt to mimic his Hogwarts hero.

Louisa Thomas, 34, said: "He loves Harry Potter and when he put the cone on he was so pleased with himself, it was very sweet.

"But when we couldn't get it off it was a bit scary.

"We shouldn't have laughed but we had a chuckle - he looked so comical even though he was a bit upset."

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The bank worker added: "He was very good while the firemen were there and he didn't panic. They got him out by pouring water down the top of the cone for lubrication and cutting the rim.

"He looks quite sorry for himself in the photo and he's not going to thank me when he sees that in the future."

Charlie, who turned three at the weekend, was on a family outing to fly his brand new kite when the incident happened.

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After lunch with his parents, grandparents and sisters Emily, eight, and Isabella, four, the family visited a playing field near their home in Cullompton, Devon. But before the kite was in the air, he had picked up the cone from the side of the field and put it on his head.

Mrs Thomas and her husband Martin, a car sprayer, tried wiggling him free, pulling the cone and using soapy water.

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When they thought their only option was to cut the cone, they called the fire brigade for help, who spent 30 minutes cutting him free using small levers, cutting tools and pliers.

Mrs Thomas said: "We had gone across to the school field with the kite when Charlie picked up the cone and wore it as a wizard's hat. Then he ran over and said, 'It's stuck'.

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"We tried to pull it off, tried laying him down and wiggling him free but that didn't work. We tried soapy water but that didn't do the trick so we had to call the fire brigade to cut it."

Mr Thomas said Charlie was very excited by Halloween which, combined with his love for Harry Potter, meant the cone was an irresistible temptation.

He said: "My first reaction was laughter. It wasn't until I got over to him and realised it was really stuck that I got worried."