A man has died after his head became wedged under the electronic footrest of a cinema's "Gold Class" seat in Birmingham.

The freak accident happened at StarCity's Vue Cinema after the man dropped his phone in between the Gold Class seats at the end of the film, the Birmingham Mail reports.

When the man bent down to retrieve his phone, the local paper said the electric seat's footrest clamped down on his head. He was only freed when the footrest was broken by those trying to help.

Operator Vue International said an investigation at its Birmingham StarCity venue was under way.

They confirmed the man had died a week after the incident on Friday (March 16).

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to reports of a patient in cardiac arrest, with crews managing to restart the man's heart before taking him to hospital.

The entertainment complex StarCity, where the cinema is based, said its Gold Class ticket offers "luxury seating" on its website.

A spokesman for Vue said (via The Guardian): "Following an incident which took place on Friday 9 March at our Birmingham cinema, we can confirm that a customer was taken to hospital that evening.

"We are saddened to learn that he passed away on Friday 16 March.

"A full investigation into the nature of the incident is ongoing. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family who have our full support and assistance."

Mark Croxford, Head of Environmental Health at Birmingham City Council added: "The City Council's Environmental Health team were notified of this incident and a Health and Safety investigation has begun.

"We are unable to comment further at this stage, as the investigation is ongoing."

Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.